


7 Years

by Daeli_Winter



Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen, M/M, OC-pirates, Oro Jackson, Roger Pirates - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-03-31 02:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13965267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daeli_Winter/pseuds/Daeli_Winter
Summary: 100 stories of Shanks and Buggy during their time in the Pirate King's crew. Genres: Mainly friendship, but there will be elements of male/male love. Enjoy!On Hiatus: I'm gonna rewrite this and will upload the 100% finished version when it's done. Updating one chapter at a time while the story is unfinished is much more stressful for me than I thought.





	1. Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A young pirate collides with a young thief and nothing will ever be the same again, much to the pirate's delight and the thief's despair.

Welcome to '7 years'! This is my tribute to the One Piece fandom: 100 stories of Shanks and Buggy during their years with the Roger Pirates. The story will be chronological and the ages of Shanks and Buggy will be shown in the beginning of each chapter. 

Disclaimer: I do not own Shanks, Buggy, Rayleigh, Roger or any other official One Piece character. They belong to Oda Eiichiro. I am not making money out of this. 

Warnings: This story will have some blood, language and Male/Male relationships. 

Well then... Let's get this show on the road! 

/// Daeli

**1: Beginnings**

Age: 11

///

In West Blue, there's a small island called Carnibal Island. On this island there are no forests to take a stroll in, no rivers to bathe in and no mountains to climb. There's only a big city called Carnibal City. It's said to be a city of delight, where merrymaking can be had both day and night, and no one is ever bored. It's a well known tourist spot and trading post in West Blue and one of the 'must go to'-places for anyone visiting that part of the world. 

This island of eternal merriment is where Shanks met Buggy for the first time. 

///

'Where did they go?' 

Shanks looked around in confusion. He had only stopped for what felt like a second to watch one of the performers juggle with burning knives, which was something he had never seen before, and already his crew-mates had been swallowed up by the crowd. 

'Oh crap! I lost them! Rayleigh-san is gonna tan my hide for this!'

He took of running down the street in order to catch up with his crew-mates, but that hope was promptly dashed as the street suddenly opened up to a huge plaza packed with people. After a few seconds of panicking and whipping his head around trying to catch a glimpse of his friends, the red-haired, strawhat-wearing eleven-year-old took a deep breath to calm himself down. 

'Okay... Okay. No use panicking. It can't be that hard to get back to the ship -' 

At that moment a small troupe consisting of three clowns on wheels, two pretty girls in glittering uniforms doing cartwheels and somersaults and a small elephant being ridden by a monkey in a conductor-suit passed right by Shanks and continued down the street he had come from. He gazed after them in awe before finally taking a closer look at his surroundings.

Ever since they arrived at Carnibal Island, Shanks had been confined at the ship, since he was, and this he could quote Rayleigh-san on, “far too air-headed to be allowed to wander around in this kind of neighborhood”. In fact, the only reason he was in town right now was because all hands had been needed to restock the ship's food storage and neither Rayleigh-san nor Captain Roger wanted to leave Shanks all alone on the ship. Normally, they would leave a couple of crew-members behind to guard the ship from thieves and marines, but for some reason both Rayleigh-san and Captain Roger seemed to want to be gone from this island as quickly as possible and that meant everyone had to help right now, including Shanks. When Shanks had asked them if the ship really would be okay with no one guarding her, Rayleigh-san only smiled wryly and said, “They won't touch her. We've been here before.” And that was all he had to say about that. 

They had also given him three orders: “Don't get separated from us”, “Keep your eyes straight ahead” and “If you DO get separated from us, go straight back to the ship”. And he had followed their orders to the letter. Until now. 

But as he turned in circles, his eyes drawn to every little thing happening around him, Shanks could not imagine what made them wary of this place. It was amazing! He had thought that the guy juggling with the swords and the troupe of circus-artists walking by him were exceptions, but he could not have been more wrong. 

Clowns in weird make-up and bright costumes, walking and tumbling and dancing all across the plaza, making parents chuckle as their children giggled and laughed at the clowns' antics; performers doing all types of acts, from swallowing fire to throwing knives at each other; salesmen yelling loudly, each trying to convince their potential costumers that their wares was the best; beautiful women and handsome men advertising for bars and restaurants, all the while smiling widely; and among all these colorful people were tourists from all over the world wearing all sorts of strange clothing. Everywhere Shanks turned there were people in brightly colored clothes shouting, laughing and singing. 

There were also tons of animals making all kinds of ruckus. Monkeys chattering as they rested on their owners' shoulders; dogs barking as they chased each other; horses whinnying as their riders tried to maneuver them through the thick mass of people; more elephants of the same kind he saw earlier; and even a big tiger in a cage that would roar at anyone getting too close to it, making the unlucky ones shriek in fright while their friends laughed at them. And birds. Hundreds of birds of all colors and sizes, chirping and trilling in chorus. 

Combine this with all the bright colors coming from the spotlights hanging above the plaza and the mouthwatering smells coming from the restaurants and the food stands, and it was enough to capture the redhead's complete attention. 

As he took in all the wonderful sights, sounds and smells in his vicinity, a mischievous grin slowly but surely spread over Shank's face. 

Though he certainly didn't mean to, Shanks _had_ broken the first two rules. He knew that if he simply returned to the ship Rayleigh-san would never let him on the island again. The vice-captain was just strict like that. And this time he had Captain Roger on his side as well, so it was no use asking him for help. 

Since he was going to get in trouble anyway, did it really matter if he broke the third rule as well? Why not enjoy his freedom while it lasted? 

And so, having convinced himself of the logic behind his coming actions the way only an eleven-year-old can, Shanks ran out into the plaza. 

Unbeknownst to him, he was being watched. 

///  
_Two hours later_

Shanks was having a blast. 

He didn't have enough money to watch any of the in-door shows or eat at a fancy restaurant but there were plenty enough street-performers to keep him entertained for hours. Jugglers, knife-wielders, fire dancers, acrobats – all with different acts. Shanks could have stayed at the plaza for days and never get bored, of that he was certain.

As he watched a man pull his entire body through a small metal ring (it was as if he was entirely made out of rubber!), he was reminded that he had not eaten anything since morning when his stomach suddenly growled. Shanks looked up at the sky and noticed that it was growing darker. 

“It will probably be dark soon. I guess I really have to go back now. _Aah-ah_ , Rayleigh-san is gonna scold me for sure-” a grin lit up on his face as he thought about all the new and exciting things he had seen today, "-but it was worth it. Now then, I'm just gonna get something to eat, then it's back to the ship.” 

He was a little surprised that his crew-mates hadn't dragged him back yet. Usually, whenever he managed to sneak away, either Rayleigh-san or Captain Roger would show up no more than ten minutes later. The two of them, especially the captain, always seemed to know exactly where he was. 'Oh, well. If they _do_ know where I am, they probably have a reason for not getting me.' 

Shanks tended to take things as they came. It was no use worrying about what might happen in the future when all you really had to deal with was what actually happening in the present. And he was gonna keep handling things as they came. After all, if he had worried too much in the past, he never would have become a member of the Roger Pirates in the first place.

His eyes caught a vendor selling grilled octopuses, which made him immediately rush over. The vendor turned over one of the octopuses, and the sizzling sound and the smell of grilled seafood made Shanks' mouth water. 

“Oh, that smells SO good! Hey old man, how much for the big one?” he asked, pointing at a stick holding a big, grilled octopus. 

“Tha' will cos' ya 25 Belis, kid. A' ya folks gon' 'ave some too?” the vendor asked with a smile. His accent and missing teeth made him kind of hard to understand, but Shanks had spent enough time with sailors to be able to piece together what the man meant. 

“Nope, I'm here by myself,” Shanks answered with a wide grin. 

For a moment the man's face twisted in sympathy before his kind smile reappeared. “Oh-hoh, izzat so? Tell ya wha', kid, this uns go' a bit burnt on da side. It be a shame t' throw i' away tho'. 'Ow about ya take this o' me hands?” 

'Oh. He thinks I'm an orphan...' After a brief second of feeling a tiny speck of guilt, he shrugged internally. 'Well, I'm not gonna argue when it comes to free food.' “Deal!" Shanks said and beamed innocently at the vendor, who laughed kindly in return. 

He was just reaching for the food, when a small explosion rocked the plaza and people started screaming in fright. Suddenly the air was filled with smoke that shifted colors every few seconds. The birds shrieked and took of from their nesting spots, fleeing from the smoke. Shanks' eyes teared up and he started to cough. He could hear the other people around him doing the same. Other animals in the plaza started panicking and ran away, not caring if there were any humans in the way. 

'Damn it! Can't see... Can... barely breathe...' 

In that moment Shanks felt someone snatch his wallet from his backpocket and saw a faint shadow passing him by. Suddenly, the fact that he couldn't see or breathe well became minor annoyances. 

"HEY, YOU!" 

He took of running in the same direction as the shadow, who seemed to be perfectly fine in the smoke. Shanks knew that if he didn't stop the shadow, it would soon disappear, so he did the first thing he could think of. 

He threw himself at it. 

He collided with the shadow and they both went down. 

"GIVE ME BACK MY WALLET!"

"OW! LET GO OF ME!" 

After a lot of struggling, Shanks finally managed to pin the shadow down. Slowly, the smoke started to dissipate and Shanks finally got a look at the person who had the guts to try and rob him. 

He was about Shanks' age and was wearing dirty rags that once upon a time might have been red or orange, but was now so washed up and dirty that they had faded to light brown. Around his neck was a light green handkerchief, that he had probably used to prevent the brightly colored smoke from getting in his nose and mouth. Beside him lay a pair of goggles. Longish, azure colored hair were being held back with a short ponytail, with two tufts of bangs hanging in front of his face. But the one thing that stood out most with the boy was that he had a big, red nose. 

Just like a clown. 

"Buggy's down!"

"Just leave 'im!” 

Hearing the voices, Shanks glanced up to see that there were more kids coming out of the rapidly disappearing smoke and running towards the streets, away from the plaza. They must have robbed the other people that had been taken by surprise by the smoke. Oh well, not much he could do about them. 

The one pinned under him, on the other hand...

“Looks like your friends abandoned you,” Shanks told him with a smirk. 

The clown snarled, “They are not my friends. And besides-” Suddenly, the clown drove a knee into Shanks stomach, which made the redhead release him with a gasp and a curse. The clown quickly got to his feet and got into a fighting stance. “-I don't need their help to beat a flashy wimp like you into the ground.”

Shanks grit his teeth to ward of the pain from his stomach, stood up and mirrored his opponent's stance. “I would like to see you try, big-nose.” 

At those words the clown practically flew at Shanks in his fury. "WHO ARE YOU SAYING HAS A BIG RED NOSE?!" 

They collided in a flurry of fists. The people surrounding them all looked on in shock. No one seemed eager to get in between the two furiously fighting boys. 

"Dear, stop them! They might kill each other!" a wealthy looking woman implored her husband after seeing the clown give the redhead boy a right hook to the jaw, and the redhead answering with a left hook to the clown's stomach 

Her husband looked at his wife with disbelief. "D-d-don't be ridiculous, woman! If I get in between those two, I will get pummeled too..."

Suddenly a voice spoke up from behind them. "Looks like we found our errant cabin boy." 

The couple quickly turned around and were met with a group of about thirteen strong looking men. Leading the group were two men, one of them a tall, curly haired blond with a scar over his right eye and dark-haired beard formed in a stripe-like pattern, wearing round glasses and a dark-blue coat. The other man,the one who had spoken, was tall, with raven hair hidden under a captains hat with a Jolly Roger on it, a great, black, curved mustache and wearing a deep red coat.

It was obvious that these guys were pirates. 

The two boys had abruptly stopped fighting when they heard the mans strong voice and were now just standing with each of their right hands grabbing their opponent's shirt. Of course, Shanks immediately recognized the men. "Captain! Rayleigh-san!"

"I told you he wouldn't return to the ship by himself, Roger. Looks like your little experiment failed,” the blond told the black-haired man, all the while starring disappointingly at Shanks. 

The captain laughed and slapped a big hand down on the blond's shoulder. 

"Aw relax, Rayleigh! We had to try sometime. And it looks like he's been having fun and doesn't look too worse for wear. I say all's well that ends well!" 

Rayleigh turned to his captain with exasperation written all over his face. "Roger, you're too soft on the kid. He disobeyed a direct order, the least you can do as a captain is scold him." 

Roger gave up another laugh. "Fine, fine, he will get a punishment when we get back to _The West Wind_. But right now-" The tall man started walking towards the two boys. The people in his path swiftly made way for him. Even though the man seemed jovial, he was still a pirate. You never know when a jovial pirate would suddenly become a jovial _blood-covered_ pirate. 

He stopped before the two boys. "So? What's this about, Shanks?" 

At that the boys let go and glared at each other. Shanks answered his captain without taking his eyes of his opponent. "Nothing I can't handle, Captain.” At this the clown scoffed and Shank's glare intensified. “This guy robbed me. I'm just getting my wallet back." 

Captain Roger actually looked surprised. "Hooh? He managed to steal from you? Not bad." While Shanks was silently fuming that his captain had actually _praised_ the clown, Roger turned to the blue-haired boy. "To be able to steal the wallet from our Shanks, I'm impressed! But... that boy is part of my crew, which means that his business is my business." 

The captain's grin widened until it looked like it would split his face. "Are you ready to pay the consequences for stealing from my comrade or are you going to give back his money? Either way is fine with me." 

The clown had frozen to the spot the moment the tall man had addressed him, and was now staring at him with a mixture of paralyzing fear and admiration. Slowly he reached into his pocket, pulled out Shank's wallet and threw it at the redhead. Shanks caught it with one hand. 

The captain now turned to Shanks. "Well, Shanks? Shall we let bygones be bygones?" The redhead looked at his captain with a little bit of annoyance, but then he closed his eyes, smiled and shrugged. "Fine, if you say so, Captain." He had his money back. No use to fight any longer... even if the hits he had taken from the clown were still aching... And there was something else... something in the back of his mind that he couldn't put his finger on...

The two of them had just started walking back to the rest of the waiting crew when the blue-haired kid's stomach started growling, much to the clown's embarrassment. Roger laughed and turned to the blue-haired kid once more. "Here." He flipped a gold-coin from his hand. The coin flew through the air until it landed at the clown's feet. "You're hungry, right? Go buy something to eat." 

At once the fear, admiration and embarrassment in the clown's eyes disappeared and were replaced with fury. He picked up the gold-coin and flung it back yelling, "Keep your flashy coin!” 

Shanks and Roger both stared at the clown with disbelief. The other townspeople also turned their eyes towards the blue-haired kid, who was panting with exertion after his outburst. He then took a deep breath and resumed his yelling, “Who do you think I am?! I'm the man who will gain all the treasures in the world, THE GREAT BUGGY! If I wanted your frickin' coin I would have stolen it in such flashily brilliant way that you would have been blinded in the process, old man! AND YOU, REDHEAD!” He snapped his hand up and pointed towards Shanks. “Our fight isn't over. I will become a pirate, find you and finish this! DON'T YOU DARE FORGET!” 

With those words he turned around and dashed through the crowds towards one of the smaller streets, and had soon disappeared from sight. 

A few seconds of silence followed his departure, then Roger threw his head back and laughed. “What a gutsy kid! Hey Rayleigh, what do you think? Should we be watching our backs in the future?” the captain asked his first-mate with a wide grin. 

His first-mate, on the other hand, had a small frown on his face. “That is if he is even lives to get to sea.” 

At that Rogers grin swiftly fell away. “What do you mean?” 

Rayleigh took a sip from his flask and then wiped his lips with the back of his hand. “You saw it too, right, Captain? His clothes were nothing but rags and given how thin his face was, he probably hasn't had a proper meal for a long while, yet he seems to have obvious skills as a thief. If he's that good at stealing, he should have no problem keeping himself well feed. Unless of course-”

“-Someone else is getting the spoils.” Roger heaved a sigh. “I see what you mean. Depending on what kind of person it is that is taking care of him, he might never get the freedom to do what he wants.” 

Rayleigh directed a searching look towards his captain. “Do you want to do something about him?” 

Roger seemed to consider the proposition, but then he shook his head. “No, leave him. There is no reason for us to get involved. Still, he was an interesting kid.” Roger and Rayleigh started walking back towards the rest of the crew. 

The crowd jumped as one of the crew-members growled, “Hey, people! The shows over, move along already!” They quickly obeyed and soon the plaza was as lively as it had been before. But Shanks was still not moving. 

Roger noticed that Shanks had yet to accompany them, so he turned and yelled, “OI, Shanks! Come on, we're going back to the ship! You still have a punishment to receive!” 

The redhead flinched and faced the first mate. “I know, I know! I'm coming!” 

He ran to his crew-mates, but during their way back the ship, Shanks could not resist the urge to turn his head a few times and look back to where the other boy had disappeared. A small wave of pain went through him. He looked down at his hand. It was bleeding from the cuts on his knuckles. They must have split open during the fight. The clown-nosed kid must be having similar pains of his own. 

There had been something about that fight, though. Something weird. Something that he still couldn't put his finger on...

“How's that hand, Shanks?” asked one of his crew members. 

With one last glance back, Shanks stuffed his hands in his pockets. “It's fine. Don't worry about it.”

///

Having finally found an abandoned alley he could hide in, Buggy leaned against the dirty wall, panting in both exertion and fury. Small drops of blood dripped down from his busted knuckles down to the ground.

Buggy was so furious that he felt like he could catch on fire. It was so frickin' unfair! Why was that flashy redhead bastard a pirate and not him?! And he was even part of a pretty awesome looking crew at that!

When the captain spoke to him, he nearly turned tail and ran. It was only through sheer stubbornness and pride that he managed to ignore the instinct. Of course, once the captain threw the gold-coin to him in pity, his temper had flared up and he just had to frickin' challenge the captain and his crew. At least they had been too surprised to act before he ran away. He was sure that they would have killed him for mouthing off at their captain. 

But that redhead...!

“IT'S NOT FAIR!” He smashed his curled up fist into a nearby wall and then winced. The pain in his hand broke through the angry haze and as he cradled his damaged hand. The anger was slowly replaced by depression. 

'What's so special about that flashy bastard that he gets to be in pirate crew? He's the same age as I am and I hadn't planned to become a pirate for at least another six years. That's how long it's probably gonna take me to gather the money for... Oh crap, the money!' 

Buggy shook his head violently from side to side. 'Dammit! This is not the time be thinking about that redhead! I need to hurry and get the money before... What time is it anyway?' 

He walked out from the alley into a bigger street and looked around for a clock-tower. When he saw what time it was, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. 'WHAT?! 10 O'CLOCK?! I ONLY HAVE 2 HOURS?!' He shook his head again. 'Nononononono. Calm down, calm down. There's still time. If I can find someone with a heavy wallet, I should still be in the clear.' 

He took a deep breath. 'Here goes.' He took off running down the street in search of someone who fit the bill. 

///

“You're saying Buggy was captured?” A man in his thirties asked the group of kids that stood before him. He was a short-haired blonde wearing a dark- and light-green striped suit. Beside him stood two beefy looking men wearing dark glasses and black suits, and a third man in a white suit wearing a slimy smile. 

Standing in front of the men were a large group of children. There were about fifteen of them in ages between 8 and 14. They were all boys and all of them were wearing old, washed out, dirty clothes. Many of them looked half-starved. The one in the lead was a 14 year old black-haired boy who was missing an ear. 

“Yeah, that's what I'm sayin', Mr. Fabioli.” the boy answered. “Tried to help him, we did, but there were too many o' them. Right guys?” The other boys nodded their confirmation, some more enthusiastically than others. 

The blonde in the green suit, Mr Fabioli, only sighed. “A damn shame that is. He was one of my best. He will be sorely missed.” He then clapped his hands together. “Well then, boys! I believe it is time for the collecting! Everyone hand over what they have managed to get a hold on this week!”

One by one, the boys went forward and placed their stolen goods in separate piles before Fabioli. The tall blonde nodded to the man in the white suit, who then started to examine the different piles and making notes in his notebook. The tension was thick among the boys, which is why everyone jumped a mile in the air when there was a sudden 'BANG' by the storage entrance. 

The two men in black turned towards Fabioli. He gave them a slight nod, which they returned, each drawing a big knife from their holsters and making their way towards the door. But before they got there, one of the doors opened and in walked Buggy. He cast a look around the storage and grinned. “Well, it looks like I arrived right on time!” 

The other boys were shocked for a few seconds before some of the younger ones rushed forward to greet Buggy, with exclamations of his name being mixed with rapid questions on how he escaped and where he had been. The older boys stood back, glowering at the clown. 

When Mr Fabioli clapped his hands together to get their attention, the younger boys scattered away from Buggy and let him move forward towards the green-clad man. Fabioli smiled wryly at the boy. “Buggy... I heard you had been captured.” 

Buggy only scoffed in answer. “It was ONE guy, and he didn't 'capture' me, he just noticed when I picked his pocket and made a fuss about it. But it's all been taken care of. So...” He pulled out a big bag from under his shirt and tossed it up and down in his right hand. “Where should I put my share?” 

“Ba ha ha ha ha! You always were my favorite, Buggy! I will forgive you for being late this time! However...” A dangerous light was in his eyes. “...if you haven't been able to make the quota it will be another issue entirely. I hope you're prepared for that, Buggy.” 

Buggy only grinned in response. “Heh. The day I can't make the quota, you may boil me, roast me, do whatever the hell you like with me. If I can't even get this done, my pride as a thief will be tarnished.”

Fabioli examined the boy who stood before him. “You have a way with words, as always. Very well, place your loot by the others and we will see.” 

Buggy did so, and then turned to stand among the other boys that were gathered there. The man in the white suit continued his assessment and was soon finished with the last pile. Fabioli turned his head towards him. “Well, Dingo?” 

Dingo turned his slimy smile towards Fabioli. “It seems that all the boys have made the quota for this week, Master Fabioli, even if some were just over the limit.” 

Fabioli nodded, pleased with the news and then said, “You have done well, boys. Now you may go. Eat, sleep, celebrate, and continue your good work. I will come back next week for the next rent. See you then.” The four men made their way towards the entrance and exited the storage. 

As soon as the door had closed behind the men, Buggy said, “Well, this has been a flashily exhausting day, I'm going to sleep,” before making his way towards the stairs. 

“Wait, Buggy!” 

Buggy stopped and turned towards the one calling out. It was the one-eared boy. “You still have a lot of explaining to do! How did you get away from those guys?” 

Buggy smiled darkly. “'Those guys'? The way I remember it, that redhead kid was the only one confronting me in the beginning. Could it be that you stuck around to watch the show, maybe see if I got arrested or lynched?” The silence from the black-haired boy said enough. “How cruel. One might think that you don't like me.” 

“That's because I DON'T like you,” the black-haired boy snarled at Buggy. The other boys were casting nervous glances between the two boys, expecting them to start fighting any second. 

But Buggy only answered the boy's snarl with a smirk. “What's wrong, Alfredo? It can't be that you're jealous, can it? I don't blame you. With my flashily superior skills in stealing you must be feeling put down. But don't worry, with a lot more work, you might even be a considered rival some day.” 

For each word the clown spoke, the boy called Alfredo became more and more red with anger and when Buggy finally finished insulting him, Alfredo was so red with fury that it would have been possible to fry an egg on his forehead. 

As soon as Buggy turned to continue walking up the stairs, Alfredo lunged for him, but was held back by the other boys. They knew that despite the difference in age and body mass, Buggy was the better fighter of the two, and always had a knife stashed on him to protect him from bigger foes, and he was a pro at using it. 

Alfredo knew this too, he was just too angry to remember it at the moment.

“YOU JUST WAIT, BUGGY! ONE OF THESE DAYS YOUR LUCK IS GONNA RUN OUT AND YOU'LL GET WHAT'S COMING TO YOU! WHEN THAT HAPPENS, I'LL BE THERE AND I'LL LAUGH IN YOUR FACE AS YOU CRAWL IN THE DIRT! YOU HEAR ME?!” 

As Buggy walked up the stairs he could hear Alfredo continue to curse and yell behind him and the voices of the other boys trying to calm the furious one-eared boy down. 

///

Rayleigh was ripped away from his concentration as someone suddenly knocked on his door. 

It couldn't be Roger. He always kept clear whenever Rayleigh was doing the inventory in fear of being roped into doing something he considered to be extremely boring. And more importantly, he would _never_ knock on the door. 

“Come in”, he said. The door opened slowly and revealed the late visitor to be Shanks in his night clothes, shifting from foot to foot.

“Um... Rayleigh-san? Can I talk with you for a minute?”

Rayleigh sighed and put down his feather-pen. “You should be in bed by now, Shanks.” The boy looked down on the ground at the scolding tone of his vice-captain. 

Rayleigh considered the boy standing in front of him before continuing, “Alright, but only for a minute. I still have work to do before I can go to sleep...” He looked sternly at the boy, “...which is exactly what you will do after we're done here, got it?” 

Shanks nodded vigorously and Rayleigh's tone became softer. “Now then... What's this about?”

Shanks released a breath he didn't know he was holding and sunk down into the chair closest to him. He opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated and drew his legs to his chest. It made him look the age he was and not like a pirate cabin boy who had been in a fight just hours before. 

Aside from having official roles in the crews, each crew-member had an unofficial role as well. Roger was the captain, and also the one you went to when you needed reassurance. Howard was the cook, but he was always willing to share his kitchen space whenever anyone needed some quiet time. And Rayleigh? He was the vice-captain... and the one the crew came to when they needed the cold hard truths. 

So whatever Shanks felt he needed to ask, he probably didn't _want_ to ask. 

He finally looked up at him. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“Yes, go on.”

“When you and the captain found me, you were talking about a test. What was that about?” 

Rayleigh was silent for a moment before sighing, again. He had hoped that the kid would wait to ask that question until tomorrow at least. He was far too tired for this. But when had anyone in this crew ever made anything easy for him?

“When we noticed that you had become separated from us, I wanted to go find you immediately, but Roger stopped me. He wanted to see if you would follow the orders we had given you, even if we weren't around to enforce them. Roger was hoping that you would, but me? I kind of figured you wouldn't.”

He smiled softly at the hurt expression on Shanks' face. “Shanks... you're simply too young and curious, and sometimes you forget to think about the consequences of your actions. With the power you have, those traits can become dangerous, both for you and people surrounding you. We left you on purpose to see how you would react. Unfortunately, you failed.”

Shanks jumped up from his seat. “But nothing happened! Well, in the end something happened, but that was hours after I had lost you guys!” he protested. 

Rayleigh frowned. “Yes... _Hours after_. Even though we expressively told you to go back to the ship if you got separated from us. And just because nothing serious happened this time, who's to say it won't happen the next time? What if there had been Marines? Or other pirates? Or anyone else that wants to hurt you?”

Shanks clenched his hands into fists. “I would have run away. I'm not as stupid as you seem to think.”

Rayleigh leaned forward with a grim expression. “This is not about stupidity, Shanks, it's about working as a crew. In the future, what if we expect you to follow an order and you don't, and a crew-mate dies because of it? Did you ever think about that, Shanks?” 

Shanks froze in place. He hadn't thought that far. The thought that one of his crew-mates could die just because he had defied orders... For some reason, the clown's face flashed through his mind. 

“But... but... I was just having fun... It wasn't like we were in a battle or anything.”

“Shanks... People die just as much on good days as they do on bad days. Please remember that,” Rayleigh said with a grim smile.

The red-haired boy looked down at his feet, the straw-hat shielding his eyes from Rayleigh. He could see the boy tremble. 

“...I'm sorry.”

Rayleigh rose from his seat and took hold of Shanks' shoulders, making him look up into his eyes. “As long as you learn from this experience, it's fine. But you're not to set foot on this island anymore, okay? That's your punishment for failing the test.” 

He clapped the boy on the shoulder and grinned encouragingly. “Hey, keep your shin up, Shanks. You're a kid, you're supposed to screw up so you can learn to be a better adult.”

Shanks glared up at him, annoyed but much less sad than before. “Gee, thanks Rayleigh-san.” He suddenly yawned loudly, making Rayleigh laugh. 

“Go on to bed, Shanks.”

Shanks nodded tiredly and after saying a sleepy goodnight to his vice-captain, he went out of the room, closing the door behind him. 

As he did, the small smile he was wearing slipped off and he sighed. He could feel the weight of failure on his shoulders and knew that the punishment he had received was fair. Guilt wasn't fun at all. 

His gaze went towards the shore where the lights was still going strong and probably would for the rest of the night. The city that never sleeps. That was Carnibal Town. 

He suddenly wondered where the boy he had meet was right now. Was he sleeping somewhere safe? Was he out there among the night-crawlers? 

He shook his head in annoyance. 'What the heck's up with me? Why do I keep thinking about him? I should be more concerned about how to make up for my screw-up today.' He growled and stomped off towards his sleeping place. He figured that a good night's sleep would clear his mind of the other boy. 

But it didn't. 

///

_The next day..._

“SHAAAANKS! WHERE ARE YOU, BOY?!”

The crew-mates of The West Wind cringed when they heard the furious voice of the first-mate and saw him coming towards them. “Howard. Where is Shanks?” Rayleigh asked one of the men while grinding his teeth. 

Howard, a big broad-shouldered blonde man in his twenties, looked confused. “Isn't he in the cabin?” A hard look from the first-mate made Howard revise his words. “I-I mean, neither of us have seen him since you told him that he was to stay put in there.” 

Rayleigh looked at each of the men, looking for any sign of deception. When he saw none, he sighed and muttered to himself, “Damn it Shanks, I thought that you knew better after yesterday.” He then addressed four of the crew-members standing in front of him. “He seems to have gotten off the ship without anyone noticing. Howard, Bane, Mikken, Sleigh – I want the four of you to go into town and look for the brat. If you find him, get him back to the ship immediately, I don't care if you have to carry him. Understood?”

The four mentioned men gave a quick nod towards Rayleigh and set off towards the town. The ship had barely left their sight when Bane turned towards his shipmates. “This is stupid.”

Mikken rolled his eyes. “Here we go again...”

Bane glared at Mikken, and considering the man was over six feet tall with tan skin, unruly short black and dark green eyes, he cut a pretty intimidating picture. Normally anyone being subjected to Bane's glare would have cowered away, but Mikken, who answered his glare with a smirk and a challenging glint in his eyes, had known Bane all his life and knew how to handle him. With his short build, fair complexion and blonde hair, Mikken looked the complete opposite of Bane. 

No one would ever guess that they shared the same parents. 

“You wanna say something, Mikken?” Bane growled at his brother. 

“I do, actually: Stop. Complaining. Every time the captain or Rayleigh-san gives us orders to take care of Shanks or include him in our past-time, you always grumble like an old man and I'm sick of it,” Mikken answered with no hesitation. 

Bane huffed. “Well, excuse me if I thought that being a pirate was about sailing the seas, fighting the Navy and finding treasure, not babysitting a freaking useless kid who can't follow simple orders.”

Mikken's smirk fell away and now he just looked annoyed. “You know that's not true. Shanks is pulling his weight as much as can be expected from an eleven-year-old and you know that the captain wouldn't have taken him under his wing if the kid didn't have potential.” 

“But he's still a kid!” Bane growled and muttered to himself. “I freaking HATE kids.” 

Howard noticed that people around them were starting to look at them funny. “Knock it off, you two! You're drawing attention to us.” 

Bane and Mikken completely ignored him and continued with their bickering. Before Howard could repeat himself, Sleigh stepped forward, raised both his hands and slapped the two brothers on their heads. “That's enough of that. Bane, no matter what your personal opinion is, Rayleigh ordered us to find the kid, so that's exactly what we're gonna do. Unless you want to explain to Rayleigh why you can't follow a simple order?”

Bane flushed in anger for having his own words turned against him, yet he didn't say a word in protest. Sleigh was a little shorter than Bane and thirty years older, but he was the most experienced sailor in the crew seeing as he had been traveling on the seas since he was a little boy. Having only lost his right eye and ear during his years traveling on the Grand Line, the rest of the crew, even Rayleigh and Captain Roger, held a great deal of respect for the old man. Whenever he talked, you listened. 

Bane turned with a huff and continued walking down the street. Mikken flashed an apologetic grin to Sleigh and hurried after his brother. Sleigh was about to go after them when Howard spoke up behind him. “It's strange, isn't it?” 

“What is?” 

Howard was fidgeting from one foot to another. “Well... Shanks isn't an idiot. He most have known how furious Rayleigh would be if he sneaked out, especially after yesterday. And it's not like he's the kind of person to make people angry deliberately, he hates it when people are mad at him. So why did he sneak out in the first place?”

Sleigh had been asking himself that same question, but since he didn't have an answer to it, he just turned and continued walking after Bane and Mikken. “Let's go. We'll never find the kid if we stand around talking all day.”

Howard still wore a brooding expression, but hurried after his senior crew-mate. 'I guess I'll just have to ask Shanks when we find him.'

///

Rayleigh entered Roger's cabin with a huff. “That kid is going to give me gray hairs!”

Roger looked up at his friend with a wide smile. “Something wrong, Rayleigh?” 

“Of course there's something wrong!” Rayleigh was pacing in front of desk and Roger was following his movements with a sly glint in his eyes. “Shanks managed to get off the ship without me noticing! I thought that I had gotten through to him yesterday, I thought that he understood the importance of following orders, of accepting punishment for doing the wrong thing! But that obviously went right over his head!”

He interrupted his rant with a groan and slapped his forehead. He could already feel a migraine creeping up behind his eyes. “I don't get how he could have evaded my Observation Haki! Even now, I can't sense him no matter how much I try! I can't even tell if he's on the island or not!” 

“He's in the northwest district, about 300 meters from the shore.”

Rayleigh stopped abruptly and turned his head slowly towards Roger, who by now was almost shaking with mirth. “You bastard... You knew!”

Roger couldn't hold himself any more and laughed raucously. “ Of course I knew! I've known about it since the brat got off the ship!” 

Rayleigh crossed his arms and glared at his captain with a glowering expression. “Stop laughing! If you can sense him, why can't I?”

Roger just smirked. “Because my Observation Haki is stronger than yours.” His friend's glare intensified. “Don't make that face, we both know it's true.” 

He leaned back on his chair and gestured for Rayleigh to sit down. “I have felt his Haki fluctuating ever since yesterday. About an hour ago it stabilized and he sneaked off the ship. It seems he made a decision about something.”

Rayleigh did not look satisfied with that answer. “That does not explain why I can't sense him. You say that you can sense him because of our difference in power of our Hakis, but that shouldn't make any difference. He's just a kid.” 

“He's not doing it on purpose. His Haki is shielding him.” 

Rayleigh's eyes widened. 

Roger sighed. “Remember when we picked him up? He was ostracized from his village because he was making people faint and breaking stuff without touching them whenever he became upset, which had happened a lot ever since his mother died. We both knew what that meant even though the villagers didn't. It meant that Shanks possesses the Conqueror's Haki.” 

Rayleigh nodded impatiently. He knew all this. Both he and Roger had been shocked to find a kid with such raw potential and had decided to take him with them before the Navy found out about him. He had been happy to go with them, but he would not let neither Roger nor Rayleigh train him to control his Haki, much to their frustration. With the villagers treating him like he was a monster, Shanks had become afraid of his own power. 

But, and here Rayleigh smiled in remembrance, the boy had grown on them both, especially Roger, who had given Shanks the straw-hat that he had been wearing for as long as Rayleigh had known him. They had decided to give him time to come to terms with his powers and since their pirate crew was a pretty strong-willed bunch, the few times Shanks lost his temper didn't result in anyone fainting. 

Shanks' Haki had remained simmering under the surface. Until now. 

“When he left, he was probably thinking, 'I hope they don't find me' or, 'I want to do this on my own'. His Haki must have reacted to that and is now shielding him from unwanted eyes. I know I said I can sense him, but it's only barely.” 

“Can his Haki really do such a thing?” 

“As long as it remains in that raw form, yes. It's strong enough to act without his say so and the Conqueror's Haki overwhelms the will of other beings, so if Shanks does not want to be found, his Haki will make sure that he's not.” 

The first-mate finally seemed convinced and sighed heavily. “I'll have to get on the Little Den Den Mushi to tell Howard and the others where the brat is, and when he gets back we're going to have a long talk with him about training his Haki. We can't put it off any longer.” He frowned at his captain. “There's still one thing I don't get. What exactly is the kid doing that he wouldn't want anyone to find out? Did he want to take another look at the island?” 

Roger grinned. “No, I'm pretty positive that he found something yesterday that managed to catch his attention completely.” 

“Like what?” Slowly, the frown was replaced with a look of understanding. “...Ah. So that's how it is.” He shook his head in annoyance. “That kid really does whatever he feels like, doesn't he?”

Roger simply laughed. 

///

“Atchooo!” 

Buggy sneezed and then wiped his nose on his shirt, much to the disgust of the couple walking past him. 

'Am I getting a cold? Doesn't feel that way. Someone must be talking about me. Probably Alfredo ranting about how flashily jealous he is of my skills!' He snickered to himself. 

Buggy had never cared about making any friends among the other boys working for Fabioli, but he and Alfredo had been downright antagonistic towards each other ever since Buggy joined the Fabioli group. Alfredo had been the top dog of the bunch and Fabioli's favorite, but when Buggy arrived with his thieving skills, street-smarts and overall charisma, that honor had been swiftly bestowed on him, much to Alfredo chagrin. 

'He probably thinks that I'm doing it to gain favor from Fabioli. Idiot~! I just want that creepy bastard off my back. A few more years and I can say goodbye to this crappy island.' He thought about his private treasure horde that he had managed to gather together during these past two years. By taking a part of his loot to the side each week (but never enough that it would make Fabioli suspicious of him) he had slowly but surely gathered a larger sum of Belis and hidden it under the floors in an abandoned house in the northern district. 

He knew what he was doing was dangerous, since Fabiolio would kill anyone holding out on him, but Buggy also knew that if he was ever to be free from the man, then he would need money to buy a ship. And then he would become a pirate and steal money from all the rich people and never be hungry and never take orders from anyone again! 

And he would do this all by himself. He didn't want anyone else's help, because people always wanted something in return, and he would never fall in that trap again. 

_“Remember this, Buggy. The strong decides the fate of the weak. So be strong, Buggy. Strong enough that you never have to depend on anyone's mercy.”_

_“How could you?! I thought you loved me!”_

_“Run... Buggy...”_

_“You poor boy, you must be starving. Come here, let me buy you something.”_

_“Here's the deal, kid. I'll give you a house to live in, bed to sleep in and food on the table everyday. All you need to do is to pay me a certain amount of money once a week. Now doesn't that sound like a good deal?”_

Memories that he would like nothing more than to forget flashed through his mind. His mother had been weak. Buggy had been weak. But he was getting stronger and continue getting stronger, by himself. He would _never_ put his trust in another human being again. 

He shook his head again; he didn't have time for this. Yesterday's incident with the pirates had resulted in him not getting as much money for his own treasure horde as he would have liked, so this week he had to get a move on if he wanted to make progress. 

Thinking about the pirates automatically made him think of the redhead he had been fighting. 'I swear, if I see that flashy bastard again I will end him. How dare he say that about my nose...?' His jealousy of the redhead was still going strong and the mere thought of him made Buggy want to hit something. 

In that moment he saw a group of tourists that he immediately zoomed in on. It was better to rob groups than it was to rob people one by one. They were easier since they were more relaxed and if you managed to steal more than one wallet, it was more profitable as well. 

'No fancy stuff. I just need to get up to them, get their wallets and walk past them. Won't be a problem with those flashy bags. Jeez, they're practically begging for someone to rob them.' He started walking towards them. 'Nice and relaxed. Don't mind me, I'm just a clown taking a walk. Slowly, slowly...'

He had just started to reach his hand towards the first bag when someone suddenly spoke behind him. “You said your name was Buggy, right?” Buggy was so surprised that he tripped over his own feet and stumbled into the tourist he was just about to rob. The tourist turned to him with a sneer and told him to watch where he was going. Knowing that his chance to rob them was gone, he apologized and backed away. When the group had left, he turned around and glared coldly at the person who had disturbed him in his work. He knew who it was, of course. Not like he could have forgotten _THAT_ voice in just one day.

“What do you want, ginger? I'm working here.” 

The boy with the red hair returned his glare. “You mean stealing.” 

“Same thing.” Buggy looked annoyed. “Don't act all high and mighty with me, brat. You're a pirate, you must steal things all the time.” 

The redhead looked at him for a moment before snorting. “Fair enough. My name is Shanks, by the way, not brat.” 

“I don't care what your name is, redhead. What do you want?” 

The boy called Shanks grinned widely. “I want to finish what we started yesterday.” 

Buggy looked surprised for a moment before the annoyance returned. “You want to have a fight? Here and now?” The redhead nodded. “Don't be ridiculous. I'm busy. Go bug someone else if you want to take a beating.” He turned and started walking away.

“Didn't you say that you were gonna settle the score?” Buggy stopped walking. “Well, now you don't have to go out to sea to find me. I'm right here. Of course, if what you said was just you bragging and you're really nothing but a tomato-nosed chicken, then I don't blame you if you run away.” 

Buggy slowly, _slowly_ turned to face the other boy. His face was red and he had murder in his eyes. “What- _the hell_ \- did-you-just-call-me?” 

Shanks started moving towards him. “What, are you deaf now as well? TO-MA-TO-NOSED CHI-CKEN~. How a coward like you can even dream of becoming a pirate is beyond insulting to us real pirates!” 

“THAT'S IT!” Buggy started running towards Shanks. “I'LL GIVE YOU THE BEATING OF YOUR LIFE!”

Shanks smirked and whispered to himself, “That's more like it.”

///

“What? Is that true, Alfredo?” 

“I swear on my life, Mr Fabioli.” 

“I see... Gather all the boys in the storage. You have two hours.” The sound of a door opening and closing could easily be heard in the silent room. 

Fabioli sighed irritably and got up from his seat. He went over to a cabinett and started pouring a glas of whisky. As he swiped down the burning liquid, he saw a boy die a thousand times in his mind's eye, each one more gruesome than the others. 'That shitty brat! Take me for a fool, will you?' He smashed down the glass on the counter. “Enrico!” he bellowed

A man by the window straightened himself. “Yes, sir?”

“Take Diego with you and search the city. Find Buggy. But don't hurt him just yet. I need him alive and well to make an example of what happens when trash tries to cheat me.” 

///

The two boys were standing opposite of each other, gasping and panting with exertion. They were both covered in bruises, Buggy's left eye was starting to swell and blood was running down Shanks' nose. Around them a crowd had gathered, some cheering them on, some simply looking on in horror. 

“Have you... had enough yet... you... flashy bastard?” Buggy said between gasps. Shanks didn't answer him. He was just staring at him. Suddenly his shoulders started to shake and his gasps were replaced by snickering. Then, while Buggy was staring at him like he was insane, Shanks threw his head back and started laughing. 

Buggy could not stand it. “What the hell are you laughing about?!”

Shanks stopped laughing, but kept smiling. He was looking at Buggy like he was made out of gold. “I knew it! I mean, I suspected it yesterday, but now I'm sure! You're not afraid of me in the least are you?! Even when I got angry at you and fought you and everything!” 

“HUH?! Why the hell would I be afraid of you, you crazy bastard?!” This was getting too weird too fast for Buggy. They had just been beating the shit out of each other and now the redhead was spouting all kinds of nonsense. 

Shanks continued to blabber, completely ignoring what Buggy had said. “And you haven't passed out either! I mean, no one in the crew ever passes out, but I've never met anyone in my age who didn't whenever I got angry!” He suddenly rushed forward and took a hold of Buggy's hands. “Do you wanna be part of our pirate crew?!” 

Buggy stared at him, then he looked down at their hands and up again, before going red in the face and backing away from him. “What are you talking about?!” 

But before Shanks could answer there was a clink by their feet. The two boys looked down and saw a canister. 

“What the...”

“OH SHI...” 

Suddenly, gas started leaking out of the canister, and after coughing a few times the boys started too feel sleepy. Buggy succumbed first with a curse on his lips and fell headlong on the ground before falling asleep. Shanks managed to hold on a little longer and was still aware when his feet went out under him and he fell to the ground. Around them people were screaming, running or falling down, but soon enough silence enveloped the two young fighters. 

Two figures with masks stepped out from the smoke and stood above them. 

“Waste of sleeping gas...”

“The Boss wanted... unharmed... be helped.”

“Here's... kid. What do... with him?”

“Bring him... The Boss...”

Shanks tried to keep himself awake, tried to move, tried to hear more of what they were saying, but it was no use. The voices turned to mumbles and blackness crept over his eyes. 

'Captain... Rayleigh-san...' was his last thought before he sank into the quiet darkness.

///

Captain Roger suddenly went tense in his chair, as did Rayleigh sitting opposite of him.

“Did you...?”

“Yeah.” A grim look was fixed upon the captain's face. He rose from his chair. “Rayleigh, get on the Den Den Mushi. Tell Howard and the others to met up with us in town. We're going.” 

Rayleigh also rose from his chair and nodded towards Roger. “Aye, Captain.” 

///

Buggy had a splitting headache, and by the look on Shank's face, he was willing to bet that the redhead wasn't feeling too hot either. 

They had woken up about five minutes ago, and while Shanks looked around himself with confusion Buggy knew exactly where they were. They were at the warehouse he and other boys in the Fabioli group lived in. He could see silhouettes on the staircase, but it was too dark to see exactly who they were. On the other hand he could clearly see Fabioli's bodyguards, Diego and Enrico, standing in front of them in their black suits. 

He tried to move his hands and feet, but it was useless. Both he and Shanks had their feet chained together and their hands were bound behind their backs. He glowered at the bodyguards. “What is the meaning of this? Why did you chain me up? I haven't done anything!” The bodyguards didn't answer him and Buggy let his head drop with a huff. 

“Hey, Buggy.” 

Buggy turned his head so that he could see the redhead, who was looking way too calm considering the situation. “You know these guys?” 

For a second Buggy considered just ignoring the other boy, but... 

“Yeah. They are the bodyguards of the guy I work for, Mr Fabioli.”

“Any idea why they would wanna chain us up and bring us to this crappy warehouse?” 

Buggy glared at the redhead (because, hey, he lived in this 'crappy warehouse'), but then he started thinking in the same line as Shanks. Why was he tied up like this, and more importantly, why on earth had they taken Shanks as well?

He didn't have time to think about these questions however, as the door to the ware house opened and Fabioli went through the opening. Immediatly his eyes zoomed in on Buggy, and the clown gulped as he saw the glower in those green orbs. Fabioli was definitely not happy. 'This is not good.'

“Enrico. Diego. I trust that the brat is secure.” 

“Yes sir. We have him in chains, as you ordered.”

“Good, good.” As he went up to the two lying face down on the floor, his eyes moved on to Shanks. “And who is this?”

Diego stepped forward. “He was with Buggy when we found him. We decided to take him with us in case he was involved.” 

Buggy's brows furrowed in confusion. 'Involved? Involved in what?' But suddenly a suspicion started to form in his head and he could feel fear creeping up his spine. 'No... They couldn't have... I've been so careful... But it would make sense... Shit. Shitshitshitshit...'

His frenzied thoughts were stopped cold by a kick to the stomach. Fabioli sneered down at him with contempt. “You disappoint me Buggy. After everything I've done for you, this is how you repay me? I thought you were smarter than that.”

Shanks' eyes widened when he saw Buggy's body spasm in pain and heard him scream. “O-oi... Buggy! Hey you! Blondie! What do think you're doing?! That's my future nakama you're kicking!” 

Fabioli shifted his eyes to Shanks. “Huh? What are you talking about, brat? Buggy is my property, I can do whatever I want to him.” He kneeled before Shanks and grabbed his chin with with his fingers. “Who are you, kid?”

Defiant black eyes without no fear what-so-ever met his blue ones. “Don't call me 'kid'. My name is Shanks. I'm part of the Roger Pirates. My captain is the greatest man to ever sail the seas – Gol D. Roger.” 

Fabioli snorted. “Bold words, for a squirt. A pirate, huh? And what do you want with my Buggy?” 

“I've already told you: He's gonna be my nakama.” 

“Nakama? Buggy?” Fabioli snickered nastily. “You really are a horrible judge of character, kid. That brat is the most illoyal, backstabbing trash you will ever have the misfortune to meet. He would do anything for gold. That's what I liked about him in the first place.” He let go of Shanks' chin and started moving towards Buggy. “But he never really learned not to mess with with the wrong people. It is because of that oversight that he's going to die, right here and right now. But first-” 

He turned Buggy with his foot so that the clown was lying on his back before placing it on Buggy's ribs. He looked down and smiled wildly. “I'm going to make an example of you, Buggy. Your screams, your tears and you pleading to die will make sure that none of the other brats will ever even think about cheating me. This is nothing more than you deserve, you thieving little punk. And after I'm done with you, I'm gonna deal with the little pirate. It doesn't seem like you and he were collaborating, but-” He huffed in disgust. “-I simply despise pirates. Those unrefined ruffians are bad for business.” He threw a glance at Shanks. “Nothing personal, kid. You just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Buggy was shaking. He was going to die. He now knew that somehow Fabioli had managed to find out about the money he had been hording. But how the hell did he find out?!

Fabioli smirked down at him and Buggy realized that he had said the last sentence out loud. “I'm not an idiot, Buggy,” Fabioli sneered. “I've suspected that you were hoarding money since three months back. I told the other boys to pay me visit if you ever did something suspicious and, lo and behold, this morning I had a visit from Alfredo, telling me that you always went to the same abandoned house in the northern district the day after the payment. He followed you with Dingo and some of my men, and after turning the house upside-down, they found the money hidden under the floors.”

He put more pressure on his foot and Buggy was starting to have problem breathing. “Crafty, Buggy. But nowhere near crafty enough to fool me.” He lifted his leg, only to bring it down on Buggy's stomach again. And again. And again. And again.

Buggy accidentally bit his tongue and could now taste blood in his mouth. In the background he could hear the other boys cheering Fabioli on, the loudest of them being Alfredo. 'What the hell are you cheering about, you flashy idiots? As soon as you're no use to him he's gonna kill you too... Whatever... I don't care... Oh god, it hurts...'

“STOP!” 

Both the cheering and beating stopped abruptly and over the painful rushing in his ears Buggy could hear bodies falling to the ground. He coughed and greedily sucked in air in his lungs before painfully rolling onto his side. He could see Diego and Enrico lying on the ground, and Shanks slowly crawling towards him. “Buggy! Are you hurt bad?” 

Buggy could only stare at him. “Did you...” He coughed and felt blood slipping down his chin. “Was that you?”

Shanks nodded and his face took a guarded expression, “It's called Conqueror's Haki. Long story short, I sometimes make people faint just by being mad at them. I'm not exactly sure how it works, and honestly I'm not really interested to know.” Suddenly his voice became more concerned. “Are you alright? He was really whaling on you.” 

Buggy shook his head, shaking off both the kindness and strangeness of the boy laying beside him. “Why do you care?”

Shanks looked at him with annoyance. “How many times do I have to say it?! Because you're gonna be my nakama!” 

Buggy scoffed. “No, I'm not. Even if we managed to live through this, even if your crew-mates won't kill me for dragging one of their crew-mates into a mess like this, I wouldn't want to be your nakama. Get real! I don't need nakama! I won't trust anyone besides myself!” 

His outburst made him start coughing again. He closed his eyes and tried to make his racing heart calm down.

“That's not going to happen.” 

He opened his eyes and was met with black eyes, full of conviction and unwavering confidence. “We're not going to die, because my captain and Rayleigh-san are gonna save us. They won't hurt you, either.” Shanks let out a blinding smile. “Captain Roger is a sucker for kids and even though Rayleigh-san can be a bit scary sometimes, he's a good man. I trust them with my life, and that means you can too.”

Buggy stared in disbelief before scoffing again. “Aren't _you_ optimistic? As if I could trust the word of a flashy idiot like you.” He tried to get his hands loose, but the chains were too tightly bound. “Damn it... Why did they have to chain us? Paranoid bastards...” 

“Ugh...” 

Buggy froze. That was Fabioli's voice. He couldn't be waking up already, could he? But it was just his luck, really, that not only Fabioli but Enrico and Diego had started to stir. He desperately wriggled his hand, trying to get it out of the chains. 'If only I could get these off!' He cast a glance at Shanks and to his frustration the redhead wasn't moving a muscle. 'Why isn't he trying to escape?!'

“What was that...?!” By now, Fabioli was standing shakily on his legs and glaring at the two boys. “You... what did you do?!” 

“HIIIH! Quick, redhead! Make them faint again!” 

“Can't.” 

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'CAN'T'?! YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM DOING IT A FEW MINUTES AGO!” 

“It's not something I can control. It just happens sometimes when I get upset or angry.” 

“SO GET UPSET!” 

“Why? My nakama are gonna be here any moment now, and he's not hurting you anymore. I have no reason to be upset!”

“THEY ARE NOT COMING! THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE WE ARE, YOU IDIOT! IF YOU DON'T MAKE THEM FAINT WE'RE DEAD, YOU HEAR ME?! THERE'S A LIMIT ON HOW NAIVE YOU CAN GET, YOU FLASHY CARROTHEAD!”

“They'll come because that's what nakama does. You'll get what I mean when you're part of the crew!”

“YOU STILL SAYING THAT?!” 

The sound of a pistol going off cut through their argument like a hot knife through butter. Fabioli was holding a smoking pistol aimed towards the roof, gnashing his teeth in fury. “Shut. Up. Enrico, Diego, get them on their feet.” 

After the bodyguards had gotten the boys up and were holding them, painfully, by the scruff of their necks, Fabioli aimed the pistol at Shanks. “I don't know what you did, boy. But it seems that it would be better to get rid of you first, so you don't pull that shit again.” He cooked the hammer back. “Any last words, pirate?” 

Shanks just looked at the blond mafia man for a moment before he suddenly smirked. “It's about time.” 

Fabioli looked confused. “What kind of -” 

That was the moment when the warehouse door flew of its hinges and onto the floor, kicking up a cloud of dust.

All gazes snapped towards the opened doorway. Loud, and to Shanks familiar, voices could be heard from outside. 

“That was unnecessary, Captain.” 

“Don't care. I felt like making an entrance.” 

“Jeez, that kid is a freaking trouble-magnet.”

“Bane, shut the hell up. You're sounding like an old man again.” 

“You think Shanks is alright?” 

One by one, with the red-dressed captain in the lead, six of the Roger pirates filed into the warehouse until all of them had entered. Fabioli and his goons were staring in disbelief, Buggy's chin was basically on the floor, and Shanks...

Well, Shanks wasn't surprised at all.

Mikken took a look around and scoffed, twiddling with a knife in his left hand. “What, only three of them? This won't even be a challenge.” That remark quickly got him a slap to the head from Sleigh. 

“We won't do anything without the captain's say-so. Don't get ahead of yourself.” 

A telling glare from Rayleigh made the two of them go silent. He then shifted his focus on his captain. “By your command, Roger.” 

“Yeah.” Roger took a couple of steps towards Fabioli before stopping. If Buggy had thought him impressive and scary the day before, it was nothing in comparison to how terrifying the man standing before them was now. Apparently he was not the only one who thought so, as he could feel Diego's hand shaking and sweating around his neck. He could also see that the pistol Fabioli was holding had started to wobble. 

“Shanks, you're not hurt, are you?” He was talking to Shanks, but the captain's eyes never left Fabioli's form, nailing it to the ground, daring him to pull the trigger. 

Shanks shook his head. “No, I'm fine. But Buggy got hurt.” 

“Buggy? ...Ah, the gutsy kid from before.”

The captain took a deep breath. “Well then.” 

In that moment something... happened. 

Whenever Buggy would think back on this moment, he would always remember the three things that happened simultaneously. The sight of Fabioli falling, the feeling of something invisible moving around him and the sound of a thousand whispers. 

Everything seemed to move in slow motion... until Buggy's head hit the ground and he realized that Diego must have passed out as well. “OW!” 

Mutterings from Bane could be heard from behind Roger. “Tch, looks like we weren't needed this time. Hey Captain, can we just grab the kid and go? I'm getting sick of this town.” 

That was answered with a slap to the head from Sleigh. “Don't give the captain orders, brat.” 

Roger looked back at Rayleigh. “Get Shanks free from those chains. We're getting out of here.” 

“Aye, captain.” As Rayleigh started moving towards Shanks, the captain meet the eyes of the clown-nosed boy who was staring at him like a mouse corned by a snake. 

For two years he had been slaving under Fabioli. During those years he had seen the man cut throats, shot people in the head and bury people alive. Men, women and children. The man had been the ultimate symbol of cruelty, misery and imprisonment for Buggy. But now, that same tormentor was lying passed out on the floor with froth coming out of his mouth. This man, who had held him prisoner for TWO YEARS, had been beaten... without his opponent even touching him.

'This... this is the real thing... he's a real pirate... he's gonna kill me... I'm gonna die...' All the words of assurance from Shanks that his crew wouldn't harm him had fled his mind. In his terror all he could focus on was that the pirate standing before him was _strong_. 

_“The strong decides the fates of the weak. So be strong, Buggy. Strong enough that you don't have to depend on anyone's mercy.”_

'I'm sorry, mother. Looks like I was too weak again...' Buggy closed his eyes in defeat. All he could do was wait for his verdict. 

Roger looked at the kid lying before him. With the exception for his blue hair and round red nose, he looked like a perfectly normal eleven-year-old. But since the day before there had been something nagging Roger about this kid, something that apparently Shanks had picked up on and had decided to investigate on his own. Now Roger could see why. 

When he had used his Conqueror's Haki he had meant for it to knock out all but Shanks, and yet the blue-haired kid was still conscious. It was like the Haki hadn't even touched him. 

Roger sat himself before Buggy, raised up his arm and covered it Armament Haki before slowly moving down towards the boy's head. When his hand was about three inches from touching the him, he watched his Armament Haki starting to dissipate. So he had been right. 'Fascinating.' 

“Captain!” Shanks' voice shook him from his thoughts. He was standing beside Rayleigh, free from all the chains. “I want to bring Buggy with us. Please let him join our crew!” 

Sounds of outrage came immediately from both Mikken and Bane. 

“What the hell are you talking about, Shanks?! We don't even know him!”

“I REFUSE to have another kid running around on the ship. It's a pirate ship, not a freaking orphanage!” 

Howard was too stunned by Shanks' words to say anything, while Sleigh and Rayleigh were simply standing with their arms crossed, waiting for their captain's response. 

Roger looked into Shanks' eyes and saw the same determination that had moved him to give his beloved hat to the kid. He had seen how wistful Shanks would become whenever they were in port and children could be seen playing and running around with each other. Despite assuring he was alright when asked about it, Roger knew that the redhead, more than anything, wished for a friend. 

He also knew that Shanks wouldn't let this go, now that he had found someone in his own age he could interact with, without worrying about hurting him with his haki. 

Roger refocused his gaze on Buggy, who hadn't moved at all during the entire conversation. 

“Well, kid? What do _you_ say?” Buggy's eyes snapped up to met his gaze. “You did say that you wanted to become a pirate, and every pirate has to start somewhere. Shanks seems fond of you and by the looks of things-” He cast a disdainful look on Fabioli's prone form. “-there's nothing worthwhile for you on this island. So, do you want to come with us and become a Roger Pirate?” 

For a second there was a glimmer of excitement in Buggy's eyes, but it was quickly extinguished and replaced with distrust. “No. I do _not_ want to be a Roger Pirate. What kind of a question is that? Are you an idiot? Just... leave me alone!” 

Roger saw through the boy's bravado with ease. Underneath that hard-boiled surface was a boy that was so afraid to get hurt that he didn't dare get close to anyone. Whatever had happened to this kid in the past had left him incapable of trusting other people. 'And hanging around that piece of shit can't have helped either... Looks like this boy could use a friend, too.' 

Roger had made his decision. 

He suddenly grinned, grabbed the chains still wrapped around Buggy and threw him over his shoulder. “Too bad!” 

Buggy was so shocked that all that escaped him was a, “Huh?” 

“Rule Number One of being a pirate, kid: a pirate does whatever the hell he wants. You're coming with us.” He turned towards his crew. “Let's go back to the ship. We have to introduce the crew to our new cabin boy!” 

Loud protesting from the two brothers was heard before they were slapped on their heads by Sleigh. “The captain has spoken. Now get back to the ship, you whiny brats.” He grabbed Mikken and Bane by their shirts and threw them out of the door before following them. 

Howard was scratching his head with a good natured smile on his lips. “Well, if the captain says so, then I guess that's that,” he said before following his friends through the door. 

Roger locked eyes with his first-mate. “Any complaints?” 

Rayleigh just sighed, then laughed softly. “You really are a softhearted idiot.” His eyes then hardened and grabbed Shanks' ear. “Don't think that I've forgotten about your punishment, Shanks. You sneaked away from us not once but twice! You're on kitchen duty until I say otherwise, is that clear?!” 

“Owowowow! I get it, I get it!” Rayleigh let go of his ear and Shanks nursed it with a pout on his lips. 

Roger moved Buggy, who had snapped out of his shock and was wriggling and swearing loudly at him, to lie more comfortably on his shoulder before starting to walk out of the dusty warehouse. “Let's go, partner.” 

Rayleigh nodded and followed after his captain with a firm grip on Shanks' shoulder. The redhead was grinning widely, despite the pain in his ear and the punishment waiting for him back on the ship. 

He was simply too happy to care.


	2. Noodles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buggy's starving himself.

2) Noodles

Age: 11

It had been five days since Buggy was taken by the Roger Pirates and he had not eaten a bite since he got aboard. He could both feel and hear his stomach grumbling in protest, but he was determined not to give in to his hunger. He didn't want to owe these pirates anything. 

He took a small sip from his flask and grimaced at the taste. The water was slowly going bad. That _really_ wasn't good. He could live without food for a while, but not water. And he had even made sure to fill the flask with water from Carnibal Town before the crazy crew had left his hometown. But now the last of it was going bad. If they didn't get to another island soon, he would have to start drinking the water that was on the ship. _Their_ water. 

Food or water; they would get him one way or another. 

'And I can't think of any other way to solve this. Damnit, why did they have to freaking kidnap me?!'

There hadn't been as much uproar as he had expected when he was introduced to the crew as the new cabin-boy. Some seemed a bit skeptic, but there had been surprisingly few of them who had openly protested against the idea. Most of them had simply sighed, giving the impression that the captain often did weird and crazy things without consulting his crew and that they had gotten used to it by now.

They had all been acting pretty nicely towards him (except for the the big, black-haired guy they called Bane, who had done nothing but glare at him since he got aboard) but Buggy wasn't an idiot. Adults were never nice unless they wanted something in return. Any day now, the crew would drop their nice act and show their real colors. Just like Fabioli had. Just like... 

He shook his head. No. He refused to think about HIM. 

Buggy was sitting down on the deck, with his back against the cabin wall. It was well away from the other pirates working on the deck, and since they had given up on trying to include him in, for him, meaningless conversations, no one was bothering him at the moment. He tried to ignore the rumblings of his stomach by focusing on the salty smell of the sea and the sound of seagulls. This was the only part of his kidnapping that he didn't mind. 

Even before he became Fabioli's errand boy, he had dreamed of going out to sea. To be free to go wherever he wanted and find treasures beyond his wildest dreams, and, if he was really lucky, to meet his father. 

His mother had often told him the story of how she met his father. He had been a pirate who one day visited Carnibal Island along with his crew. They met at the bar where she was working as a singer and dancer at the time, and during the week that followed they spent every day together. 

“It was never really love on my part...” Buggy remembered his mother saying, “...and I don't think that whatever he felt for me was really serious either, but we were very comfortable with each another. He did not look down on me for being a mere dancer and treated me like I was a lady. I couldn't care less that he was a pirate. His kindness told me that he was a good man.” 

After a week in each others company, his father's ship had departed and he along with it. Nine months later Buggy was born. 

Buggy, being as young as he was at the time, did not really understand all of what his mother was talking about. He was far too young to understand why anyone would look down on his mother, who was a goddess in his eyes, or even what love really was. He was more concerned with the fact that everyone else seemed to have two parents whereas he only had one. He didn't understand why his father hadn't come back to visit them. He didn't even know what his father really looked like. He had pestered his mother endlessly for more information about his father, but she only ever told him one other thing. “You got his nose.” 

Light footsteps could be heard on the deck, breaking through his nostalgic state. They stopped right in front of him and he sensed someone sitting. He didn't look up, but he knew who it was, because there was only one person on this ship who _just wouldn't leave him alone_. 

A bowl of steaming hot noodles was put in front of him and Shanks' voice rang out, “Howard says that you haven't eaten anything since you got aboard. Here.” He pushed the bowl towards Buggy. “I figured you might be uncomfortable with the others, so I brought this out to you.” He leaned back on the railing, simply looking at the boy sitting opposite of him, waiting for him to eat. 

Buggy could smell the delicious aroma of the noodles and felt his stomach rumbling in response to it. He glared at the boy sitting in front of him. This was all his fault! If that redhead hadn't hounded him, spouting nonsense about nakamas, he wouldn't be on this stupid ship in the first place. 

He ignored the fact that if it wasn't for Shanks being captured along with him, the Roger pirates wouldn't have raided the warehouse and Fabioli would probably have killed him and dropped him in the ocean. It's not like anyone would have come for _him_... 

He shook his head to shake off the troublesome thoughts. 'What's wrong with me?! First I'm thinking about my parents, and now this? It's the hunger, it has to be...'

“Buggy.” 

He was shaken from his thoughts, again, by Shanks voice which, to his surprise, was heavily tinged with worry. He looked up and almost jumped out of his skin when he saw Shanks' face no more than an inch away from his face. “Is your stomach hurting? Is that why you won't eat anything? We don't have a doctor on board, but Rayleigh-san said that your wounds weren't serious. Was he wrong? Are you hurting anywhere else?”

As the redhead shot off question after question, Buggy could do nothing else but stare at him incredulously. He couldn't believe that this idiot had the gall to act like he was worried. They had only known each other for a few days. Did he think Buggy was actually dumb enough to fall for a lame act like that? 

His hands shot out and he pushed Shanks' away from him. The redhead fell on his back, and then just looked at Buggy with a shocked expression, while Buggy glared at him with contempt.

“As if I would believe that you're actually concerned! It was that captain of yours wasn't it?! He sent you here to make YOU make ME eat something, didn't he?! Then you're gonna report back and he and that split-bearded old guy is gonna be all 'He ate our food, so now he owes us'. And then your gonna make me do stuff I don't want to do, all the while hanging the fact that I survive by eating your food over my head!” Buggy snarled at the redhead. “Well guess what! I've it all figured out! If I don't eat your food or drink your water, you can't hold that over me, so there!” 

The furious ranting was cut off by Buggy's stomach rumbling impatiently, and the clown's expression changed from anger to pain. He brought his knees up and clutched his stomach with his hands, trying to will the painful, empty feeling in his belly to go away. He just had to hold on to the next island. Just had to ignore the feeling of hunger ... Ignore the sweet smell of spicy noodles wafting gently under his nose...

“So that's how he got you, huh?” 

Buggy's eyes snapped up and met Shanks'. He was still in the position he had fallen in, but his expression had changed from shocked to understanding. 

Shanks smiled at the clown. “I was wondering why you hung around that slime-ball. Did he trick the other kids like that as well?” 

Buggy's gaze still held an amount of suspicion, but after a few seconds he answered Shanks' question. “It was his specialty. He would tempt a kid with the promise of food and a place to sleep to reel them in and then force them to steal for him as long as they lived under his roof. It's not like we had anywhere else to go...” 

Buggy shook his head. 'Why did I say that? Damn hunger...' It was making him weak. He would have never let it slip if it wasn't for the fact that he was being tortured by the smell of hot food and damnit couldn't the redhead take a hint and just go away and take these stupid delicous noodles with him?

“Anyway, I know what adults are like, and your captain is no different than...”

“Don't you dare compare my captain to that weasel.”

Buggy promptly shut up. That tone the redhead just used was the same as the day they first met, the day when they both went down in fury of fists. A part of him, the part that was frustrated about this whole situation and just wanted to hurt something, wanted to fight, but the bigger part of him knew that the way he was now, he stood no chance of beating Shanks. So he grudgingly backed down. 

Shanks glared at the clown before getting up on his feet. “You can think whatever the hell you like. That does not make it true. You are offered food because you're part of the crew now and because I... we don't want you to die. That's all.”

The two of them just looked at each other uncomfortably for a moment before Shanks started walking towards the deck door. “Just... eat the food, Buggy.”

Buggy's eyes followed Shanks until the redhead went under deck before looking down on the rapidly cooling noodles that was in front of him. 

He sighed before picking up the bowl. The encounter with Shanks had let him understand one thing, at least. Starving himself wasn't working. A tiny part of him might have known all along that what he was doing was stupid and that he needed to eat, but the larger part of him could not help but remember how he had been tricked by Fabioli. 

He thought back on Shanks' expression when he compared Fabioli to the captain. 'He looked really insulted.' Buggy looked down on the bowl, then picked up the chopsticks before he slowly started to eat the noodles. 

It was such an unspectacular meal, a bowl of simple noodles, yet Buggy felt like he never tasted anything more delicious in his life. He was so distracted by the taste and the feeling of finally getting some food in his stomach, that he failed to notice the tears that had started to run down his face. 

Maybe these pirates weren't the same as the adults on Carnibal Island. Maybe it was safe for him to eat their food and drink their water. 

But he was not their nakama. It didn't matter if they shared their food with him, it didn't matter if they let him be. It didn't even matter that they had saved him from Fabioli. He knew that if push came to shove, they wouldn't care whether he lived or died. In that moment he made a decision.

He would eat and drink whatever was offered, he would sleep under their roof, he would play their games, all while gathering his strength. And when an opportunity presented itself... he would escape from this flashy ship with its flashy crew, flashy captain and flashy redhead.

'Crewmates... Nakama...' he thought sourly as he scarfed down the noodles. 'Give me a break.'


	3. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buggy's having a nightmare.

**WARNING: This chapter may contain some disturbing material, just so you know.**

**/// Daeli**

3) Nightmare

Age: 11

He was at a dance show. Murmurs could be heard from the audience sitting all around him, but all he could focus on was the lithe form dancing intricately on the stage. 

She was beautiful. The prettiest in the whole wide world. 

He had always thought so and had always made sure to tell her whenever she got sad or angry. She would then laugh and hug him tightly. 

Her name was Cyann and she was his mother. 

While she was dancing on the stage, lavendel rose petals were fluttering all around her, following her movements like she was a goddess of the winds, creating a beautiful scenery of purples and blues as her hair got swept up by the flowerstorm. There was no music, yet her steps were carefully coordinated, as if she was dancing to tunes only she could hear.

She danced to the front of the stage and landed in a curtsy, facing the audience. The audience rose as one and clapped. Buggy didn't care about them. His attention was solely on her. 

Suddenly she rose her head and looked straight at him. She smiled and reached out a hand. He smiled back at her and rushed forward into her waiting embrace. Her arms closed around him, and he immediately felt safe. 

He nuzzled closer as she combed her fingers through his hair. “My baby boy. How much you've grown.”

“Mom, I miss you so much.”

“I'm always here, Buggy.” She gently pried his arms from her waist and got down on her knees so that she was on the same level as her son.

“Remember what I've taught you, Buggy. The strong decides the fates of the weak. So be strong. Strong enough that you don't have to depend on anyone's mercy.” 

Buggy could see his mother shaking. “Mom? What's wrong?”

“Don't depend on anyone. Don't trust anyone. Don't love anyone.”

Tears were rapidly falling from her eyes. She looked as if her heart was breaking. Buggy wanted to console her, but couldn't think of anything to say. 

“Don't die like me, Buggy,” she whispered.

Suddenly her head whipped back and she was torn away from him, high up into the air. 

“Mom!” Buggy jumped, trying to grab hold of her, but she was far beyond his reach. Behind her, a shadow was squeezing her throat, making her gasp for air. 

He could hear the applause change from something sporadic to something rhythmic. Like the sound of a drum. He swiftly turned to the audience.“What the hell are you all still clapping for?! Help my mother!” he yelled out in desperation. But when he saw their faces, his face paled and he released a gasp of horror. 

They were dolls. Every single one of them.

Rows upon rows of giant dolls with dead eyes and eternal smiles were looking up at the woman being strangled. Their clapping was steadily getting faster and faster. 

Clap... clap... clap... 

Buggy could hear his mother choking. He screamed, pleaded and threatened the shadow to let her go, but nothing was working. 

Clap, clap, clap...

She stretched her hand towards him, and whispered two words with tears streaming down her cheeks. 

“Run, Buggy.”

Clapclapclap...

CLAP!

With a last resounding clap, a loud crack echoed throughout the room and his mother twitched violently before hanging limply in the shadow's grasp. 

Buggy fell to his knees, his eyes nailed to his mother's suspended body. Around him he could hear clattering as the dolls fell over in their seats. The shadow let go of her, making her fall towards the ground. Buggy reached out, trying to catch her...

...only for her body to go to pieces when she landed on the ground. Her limbs scattered over the stage, clattering as they went. He looked down by his feet and was met with the blue, porcelain eyes of his mother. 

He screamed. He wailed. He cried. He flailed. And still all he could see was his mother's decapitated head, her mouth frozen into a grimace of fear and her horrific, dead eyes still staring at him. 

Suddenly, he felt cold breath on his neck, making his hair stand on end. 

“You know...”

Shadowy fingers on his back, slowly crawling towards his neck. 

He couldn't move.

“...the best thing about dolls...”

He couldn't move! Why couldn't he move?! His mother had told him to run! He had to run!

“...is that when they break...”

The fingers reached his neck and curled lightly around his throat. 'Move! Please, move!'

“...all you have to do...”

His head was tilted back and his wide black eyes met the green orbs and slight smile that he knew he would see. 'Please... don't...'

“...is get a new one.”

The fingers suddenly tightened and twisted. The last Buggy heard was the horrific sound of his own neck breaking. 

///

Buggy shot up from his sleeping spot, panting and covered in cold sweat. He felt his head and stomach protest wildly at the sudden upward movement, and curled in on himself, desperately forcing himself not to throw up. 

A few minutes passed and he finally felt his stomach calm down. He looked up from his position on the floor and listened. He could still hear snores coming from the men's sleeping quarters. So he hadn't woken anyone up. That was good. He really didn't feel like answering any questions regarding his nightmare. 

The memory of green eyes and a soft smile played through his mind again and he shuddered. He knew that he would always remember that face until the day he died. 

The face of the man who killed his mother. 

He yawned and curled up under his blanket. Maybe the nightmare was waiting for him the moment he slipped into dreamland, but he would have to risk it if he wanted to stay alert during the day. According to the crew, they were going to arrive at an island tomorrow. Should the opportunity to escape arise, he certainly didn't want to be sleep-deprived.

'Tomorrow might be my last day on this ship. Good riddance to all of these flashy bastards.'

And with that last comforting thought, Buggy closed his eyes and soon fell asleep. 

No more nightmares plagued him that night.


	4. Crossroad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buggy has a choice to make.

About the story, there's one thing that I have to mention. I don't know if anyone have noticed it, but the Buggy and Shanks in my story are two years older than their canon selves. When I was figuring out how old the two of them were when they traveled with the Roger Pirates, I did a miscalculation. I'm just mentioning this so that if someone DID notice this little fault of mine, I know about it. But, you know... this is already a M/M story, so it's already not in line with the canon story-line. I hope this doesn't bother anyone. 

Thank you all for your support! Here's the next chapter! 

/// Daeli

**4.Crossroad**

Age: 11 

Mikken looked out over the harbour, where the Roger Pirates had just docked their ship, and frowned. “That's strange. Where are all the people?” he muttered to himself. 

Because there really wasn't a soul to be seen anywhere. It was in the middle of the day and it was a pretty big town, so the harbour should have been bustling with activity. The harbour was filled with other docked ships, but no sailors could be seen taking care of them. There were plenty of shops surrounding the harbour, and wares like fruit, fishing nets and meat were all out on display, just waiting to be bought, but no customers or salespeople were there to do business.

“Hey, Sleigh!” Mikken called up to the eagle's nest. “Are you sure this town is inhabited? Looks pretty deserted to me.” It wouldn't be the first ghost town the crew had stumbled upon.

Sleigh, who was making his way down from the lookout, glared down at his fair-haired shipmate. “I'm old, kid, but my eyes ain't given out on me yet. I saw people moving around on the docks when the town first came into view. I reckon that our Jolly Roger scared them of.” 

Mikken did not seem to be convinced and threw another glance at the town, trying to pick out any movement. “You sure about that? _I_ certainly can't see anyone.”

“Sleigh's right, Mikken.” 

Mikken, Sleigh and everyone else on deck turned to their captain, who had just emerged from the captain's cabin with Rayleigh in tow. Roger stepped forward and put his hands on the railing with a small grin. “There are people living here, quite a lot of them actually.” He tilted his head slightly to the side, as if he was listening closely to something only he could hear. “And they're all gathering together about three hundred meters in.” His grin grew wider. “It would seem that they are rallying themselves to form a welcoming party. Looks like we're in for a warm reception.”

The pirates snickered at his excited tone. To see their captain this giddy at the idea of angry townspeople coming to wave their pitchforks at them would have been a cause for concern for most crews, but not this one. Traveling around with Gol D. Roger could make you get used to anything and everything.

Howard saw movement out of the corner of his eyes. He squinted his eyes and saw the beginning of a long train of people coming from the depths of the town. They were marching down the street towards the Roger Pirates. And they did _not_ look happy. “Uh, captain?" Howard spoke up hesitantly. “It looks like they're done rallying.”

Roger clapped his hands together and turned towards his crew-mates, the never-faltering grin still on his face. “Well then, boys! Let's go meet the locals.”

///

Buggy had been waiting for a moment like this. 

He had been told to stay on the deck of _The West Wind_ along with Shanks and Howard to, as Rayleigh had put it, 'observe how the Roger Pirates do things'. Buggy could just imagine what the man had meant by that. These guys were pirates after all, and this town looked pretty easy to sack. 

All in all, it was a pretty clever idea of them to make him watch the sacking. The captain and his right hand man probably figured that if he saw how ruthless they were with civilians, he would either be so scared or so impressed that he would join the crew without anymore fuss. They must have grown tired of waiting for him to join them of his own volition. 

Buggy smirked to himself. 'Well, aren't they gonna be so flashily surprised when they return from their looting only to find me gone?'

When he had found out that they were approaching an island, he had started to make preparations for his escape. He had managed to steal some bread, water, a small amount of meat and even got his hand on a few gold coins from the pirates small treasury. Buggy was actually surprised that no one had caught him yet, but he was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He could only hope that his luck would hold up for the next few hours. 

He had been with the Roger Pirates for a month now, and this was the first island the pirates had dropped anchor at since they left Carnibal Town. This was his chance to escape and he knew that if this attempt failed, there probably wouldn't be another one, at least not until they got to another island. And who knows what could happen between this island and the next? Not to mention what would happen if they found out that he had been stealing from them.

Despite the pirates trying to convince him that they wouldn't hurt him, Buggy was absolutely certain that if they discovered that he had stolen supplies from them and tried to escape things would not work out well for him. Either they would lock him up until he decided to join their stupid crew or their patience would run out completely and they would simply kill him. He was not going to let either of those things happen. He had to escape now!

The pirates had barely gone unto the shore when the town's inhabitants reached them. All of them were men and women of fighting age. They were all carrying improvised weapons, like large knives, hammers and rolling pins. Despite them outnumbering the pirates with at least 10-to-1 and looking rather tough for a bunch of townies, Buggy could tell that these people wouldn't stand a chance against the pirates. A part of him felt almost sorry for them, but the bigger part of him saw the opportunity that the upcoming conflict would present to him. 

A large, muscular, gray-haired man in his sixties led the group. He was the only one carrying something that could be called an actual weapon. It was a giant, silver-colored, basket-hilted broadsword. Its edge must have been sharp once upon a time, but age, and by the looks of it, frequent use, had dulled the blade considerably. Buggy scoffed to himself. 'It may not look much of a threat, but I bet that guy has crushed a lot of flashy pirate-skulls with it.' Yet, when compared to the captain and the vice-captain, even that guy paled in comparison. 

The old man stopped about seven feet from the captain and meet his eyes with fierce determination. “I'm Graves, the blacksmith of this town. I come as a representative for the mayor and I will give you one warning, and only one: Leave this place. This is our town...” He swung his great sword with one hand and pointed it at the pirate crew. “...and we'll be damned if any filthy pirates tries to take it from us!”

His speech brought courage to the townspeople standing behind him, making them call out threats towards the pirates.

“Get lost, pirates!” a older woman called out from behind the blacksmith.

One of the younger men on the front-lines took a step forward and lifted his pitchfork. “We don't want your kind in our town!”

Soon all kinds of threats and insults were raining down on the pirates. 

During this exchange, Buggy was slowly, slowly moving away from Shanks and Howard, who were completely absorbed in what was currently happening on the docks. He inched himself towards the starboard side of the ship, hoping that the two of them wouldn't notice what he was up to. He had hidden his provisions behind one of the water barrels in case a chance to escape emerged, and now it had.

This moment right here was the perfect opportunity. As soon as the pirates started rampaging through the town, he would make himself scarce and get as far away from them as he possibly could. He didn't know how he would get off the island just yet, but he would figure something out. He always had before.

Down on the docks, the townspeople were growing steadily more angry and impatient. The Roger Pirates were standing still, waiting for orders from their captain. Rayleigh cast a glance at Roger, whose expression was unreadable at the moment. “What should we do, captain?” 

Roger just looked at the riled up townspeople for a few moments before giving Rayleigh a slight nod. “Looks like we don't have a choice.” He took a few steps towards Graves, making the townspeople quiet down, watching the captain approach their blacksmith with trepidation. He stopped right in front of Graves, and as the two big men gazed at each other, the tension rose even higher. 

'This is it...' Buggy took another step backwards. 'Just say the word already, you flashy bastard.' 

Roger broke his face-off with Graves to look out on the people standing behind the blacksmith. His sharp eyes made some of the townspeople squirm, but most of them held their ground. 

'Come on, come on, come on...' 

The red-clad captain then locked his gaze on the blacksmith, opened his mouth - 

'NOW!'

-and started laughing. 

The unexpected sound completely derailed any thoughts of escape from Buggy's mind and shocked him so much that he stumbled over his feet, which made him lose his balance and fall flat on his face. The sound of his body hitting the deck went unheard to the rest of the crew except for Shanks and Howard, who both turned and looked at him with surprise. 

If Buggy had had any sense left, he would have picked himself up, gotten his provisions, jumped into the water and started swimming as fast as he could, as he had planned to do from the start... but the sheer surprise of hearing the captain start laughing instead of telling his pirates to attack ( _As he should have! As he was supposed to do!_ ) made the boy freeze in place. 

After a few seconds he slowly got to his feet and made his way in-between Shanks, who was now completely ignoring him in favor of his captain, and Howard, who kept glancing at Buggy in concern. Buggy could do nothing but stare at the back of the man who had forcibly kidnapped him with a smile... the man who was still laughing loudly. 

The captains laughter hadn't just unnerved Buggy. Graves and the other townspeople seemed to in a shocked state as well and were just staring at Roger like he was insane. Graves was the first to shake off the shock and his eyes filled with anger. 

“Are you mocking us, pirate?! These people have gathered here to defend their town despite being frightened of dying at your hands and you dare laugh at their resolve?!” His grip on his sword tightened and his next words were spit out between gritted teeth. “I will not let you laugh at their bravery.” 

Roger stopped laughing, but his wide grin remained. “I'm not laughing at them, mate. I'm happy for them, that's why I'm laughing.” 

As the confusion settled on the blacksmith's face, the captain continued, now also addressing the townspeople. “You all have courage to come face us, not knowing if you would even have a chance to defeat us. I like that. And I can promise you that there will be no pillaging or burning from our side.” 

'What?' Buggy's mind could scarcely believe what he had just heard. 

Graves stared at Roger in confusion. “What kinda trick is this, pirate?” 

“No trick at all,” Roger said lightly. “We decided to dock at this harbor because our water is running low. Some food and other supplies would be good as well. Of course, we got money to pay for it.” 

The suspicious glint was lit again in Grave's eyes and he scoffed. “And that's exactly why I think you're pulling our leg, pirate. Why not simply take what you want like a normal pira-” 

“And why would I do that?” Roger interrupted. “You and your fellow townies seem to be good enough people. I see no reason to fight you. We're the kind of pirates that will not attack unless someone threatens us first or tries to force us to do something we don't want to do. But...” His voice took on a slightly more vicious tone. “...if someone was to try and hurt my nakama, well... I can assure you that I'm just as protective of mine as you are of yours. You get what I'm saying, mate?” 

Graves looked into the pirate's eyes and instantly knew that he was dead serious. He carefully considered the man standing in front of him for a minute, before lowering his sword slightly. “If your people won't attack my people, I see no reason to fight you.” He put his sword back on his broad back, and made a hand-signal. The other townspeople looked between the two of them in confusion before slowly lowering their weapons as well. The harsh tension that had been choking the air dissipated into relative calmness.

“Good. Then we're all on the same page.” Roger reached out his hand, his jovial grin back on his face. “I'm Gol D. Roger, the captain of this crew. But you can just call me Roger, mate.”

Graves looked down on the hand before lightly slapping it to the side. “Be warned, pirate. One wrong move and I will put your head on a spike.” He looked long and hard at Roger before turning around with a scoff. “And I'm not your mate... captain Gol.”

“Duly noted, mate,” Roger called after him mischievously as the townspeople hesitantly followed after the blacksmith back into town. “How cold... We're just gonna have to do something about that, don't we?” he muttered to himself before turning to his crew. “You heard the man, boys! Be on your best behavior!” 

The crew answered him with an unanimous shout and also started going into town, excited for a chance to visit a bar or two... or three. 

“You three get down here as well. These guys won't do anything to _The West Wind_ ,” Roger called up to the three still on the deck before following the crew along with Rayleigh. Shanks and Howard both sighed in relief and made for the gangplank to join their crew mates. 

Buggy, who had yet to move from his position, just watched them go. Shanks stopped about halfway down the plank and turned to the clown.. “What are you doing, Buggy? Come on, lets catch up with the others.” 

Instead of answering with an insult or glaring as he usually did, Buggy just silently nodded and followed the two crew members down the plank and went past them, without even buffing his shoulder into Shanks as he was prone to do whenever they went past each other. Shanks' and Howard's eyes met in disbelief over the change in Buggy's attitude, but whatever they thought about it they didn't say a word about it out loud. 

///

30 barrels of water, 4 bags of flour, 2 rolls of cheese... Rayleigh went through the inventory list once again, just to make sure that they hadn't forgotten anything. Outside the captain's cabin he could hear the crew bringing all the wares on board, talking to the townspeople, and just being their usual loud selves. Once in a while, you could hear Roger's laughter over the rest of the noise. 

They had spent three days at the town, resting, getting new supplies... and drinking. The townspeople had been wary of them at first, but after a day of watching the pirates laughing together and being genuinely respectable towards the inhabitants, they had started to relax and on the third night they had thrown a small party to say goodbye to the pirates. 

Even Graves, who according to the townspeople was usually loath to drink anything, had been seen sharing a toast with Roger. Of course, this was after two long days of Roger following him around, pestering him about having a drink with him and just being the annoying idiot that Rayleigh knew he could be. No one could stand Roger for long when he was like that. Either they gave into his demands, or they tried to bash his head in to make him shut up. And since Rayleigh had seen Grave's hand twitching more than a couple of times, he had weighted the odds to be about fifty-fifty on whether or not he would try to cleave Roger in half.

Fortunately for everyone, it all ended with Graves giving into the persistent captain's wishes with a heavy sigh of annoyance and the words “I'll have that blasted drink with you if you stop following me around! And I'm still not your freaking mate, pirate!” And two hours later, the two of them had been sitting together, chatting away like they had known each other for years. 

Rayleigh chuckled to himself. Despite having known Roger for many years and being his closest friend, it still amazed him how easily Roger could make people open up to him. The villagers, especially Graves, had been prepared to die fighting the pirates to protect their town, yet a mere jolly laugh from the captain had dissipated the anger, replacing it with confusion. They must had thought that he was utterly insane... which honestly wasn't that far from the truth. 

He smiled to himself as he fondly recalled his first meeting with Roger all those long years ago, remembered how he had looked up at the straw hat-wearing, grinning idiot with disbelief as he loudly asked Rayleigh if he wanted to turn the world upside down with him. ' _I_ thought he was insane the day I first meet him, and I bet that every single one of the crew members thought the same as well.' 

But their captain had through his charisma managed to convince all of his current crew members to join the crew, one by one. Some had been more easily swayed than others, like Howard, who had fled his noble family's rigid lifestyle in order to become a sea chef. Some had been more difficult to recruit, like the brothers Bane and Mikken, who had seen their parents killed and village burnt down by pirates when they were only children. Despite all their protesting and assurances that they were going to kill Roger in his sleep, within three weeks they had opened up to the captain and decided to join his crew. 'My, has it really been five years since then?' 

Rayleigh's smile fell and he looked out the round window that faced the deck. Reminiscing about the past made him think about his captain's newest addition to the crew. The blue-haired boy was sitting on the same spot he had been occupying every day for the last month. But something was different about him. 

During these three days Buggy had barely said a word to anyone. He was sitting away from the others, just looking at them, deep in thought. Rayleigh could sense that something had changed in the boy. Before they came to the town, the boy had been exceedingly difficult. In the beginning he wouldn't even eat, but even after he started eating with the rest of the crew, he would draw himself back into a corner and keep glaring at anyone who came near him. The only one who managed to get near him was Shanks, who possessed a stubbornness rivaling the captain himself.

This had continued for a whole month, and more than once Roger and Rayleigh had had other crew members come to complain about the boy. Especially Bane had a problem with Buggy, saying that he didn't do anything to help on the ship, that he was a nasty kid and that he would never want to become their nakama no matter how long they waited. Rayleigh had listened to their complaints and had silently agreed with them. But Roger had just laughed and told them to be patient. 

At the time, Rayleigh didn't think that it would ever be possible for the boy to ever change his mind about them. But now when he looked at the boy, he could see why Roger seemed so confident. The guarded expression that had constantly been on Buggy's face since they met him had started to slip off and had been replaced with bewilderment and frustration, like he was stuck on a riddle he could not figure out and was becoming more and more frustrated that he couldn't find an answer to it. 

As the pirates were getting ready to leave the island and continue on their journey, Rayleigh could see how the bewilderment was slowly losing ground to the frustration. 'He's gonna crack anytime now. That should be interesting.' He smiled to himself before shaking his head and going back to doing the inventory. Someone had to do it after all. 

///

Howard had rung the dinner bell and everyone was sitting in the dinning area eating broth. It was the last evening before they were leaving town. Buggy was sitting between Shanks and Mikken and was just staring at his food with a troubled expression. 

“Something wrong, Buggy? You've been weirder than usual for days,” Shanks said with his mouth full. Usually Buggy would have retorted that he wanted to be left alone, or complained about Shanks spraying him with broth, but he just continued to stare at his food. Mikken threw a look at Shanks, but he only shrugged. 

“Forget him,” came Bane's voice from the other table. He looked up from his eating to give Buggy a glare of contempt. “I don't see why you're worrying about him. It's not like he appreciates your concern.” 

Mikken glared at his brother. “Knock it of, Bane.”

Bane threw his spoon down and got to his feet angrily. “And why the hell should I, huh, Mikken?! Shanks may not do much, but at least he does _something_ to help on this ship! That ungrateful little brat has been moping for a month and has been practically useless! Our goal is the Grand Line, isn't it? Why should we take a brat with us who's just going to sit around and glare at us 'til his eyes pop out, all the while doing nothing to help on this ship? He doesn't want to be our nakama and I for one does not see why we have to be stuck with him when he doesn't even want to be here!” 

Bane's outburst had made all the others stare at him. Some of them looked like they agreed with Bane, while others, like Shanks and Mikken, was glaring at him with anger. 

Everyone was looking at Bane... except for Roger and Rayleigh. They were looking at Buggy. 

During Bane's outburst Buggy hadn't moved a muscle. He was still looking down in his food, like he hadn't even noticed Bane trash-talking him. Suddenly his head slowly started to turn and he coolly met the captain's eyes. 

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Buggy rose from his seat and started walking towards Roger. Everyone's eyes had now shifted to the two of them. Buggy stood in front of the seated captain. A few seconds of tense silence went past before Buggy opened his mouth. 

“Why?”

“Why what, Buggy?” Roger asked calmly, the usual jovial tone gone from his voice. This instantly told all the others in the crew that he wanted no interruptions to this conversation. 

“Why didn't you take whatever you wanted from that town? You didn't have to pay for any of it. I know you're strong. So why didn't you just take it?” Buggy asked him, his voice wavering between confusion and anger.

Roger calmly shifted around so that he was facing Buggy head-on. He simply looked at the kid for a few seconds before asking, “Why would we steal from those townspeople, Buggy?” 

Buggy looked surprised. “Why?! You're pirates! Isn't that what pirates do?! Taking what they want from other people weaker than them, never having to pay for anything, being free to do whatever you want whenever you want!”

A wry grin made its way onto Roger's face. “Well, you're only half wrong, at least.” The grin slipped and was replaced with a frown. “Listen carefully, Buggy. I want you to think carefully before you answer these questions. Do you know what a pirate crew really is?” 

Buggy scoffed in confusion. “What it is? A pirate crew is a group of pirates traveling together.” 

“And why do they travel together?” Roger continued patiently.

“Well... to survive, I guess. Isn't that something all humans do?” 

Roger looked hard at Buggy. “Is that really all?” 

Buggy seemed to think hard before doing a double take and glaring at Roger. “Why are you asking me?! It's clear you already have an answer ready. Just say it already!” 

Roger grabbed hold of his tankard, taking a deep swig of the drink, much to Buggy's annoyance, before finally saying, “Let me ask you something else then. What kind of person should a pirate captain be?” 

Buggy looked annoyed. “That's obvious. A pirate captain must be able to keep a crew in line. His orders are absolute.” 

Roger smirked at the clown. “Again... you're only half wrong.”

Buggy lost his temper and stomped his foot on the ground. “Would you quit doing that?! You're being a flashy bastard!” 

Roger took another swig of his drink before putting it down on the table and wiping his mouth. “I was interested to hear what you think makes a crew a crew and a captain a captain. When we first met back in Carnibal Town you told everyone that you were gonna be a pirate, so naturally I've been curious of what kind of pirate you were planning to be.” 

Buggy looked confused. “What kind? What do you mean by that? Pirates are bandits of the sea. They steal from other people. That's why I'm confused. I know you're strong, very strong even, and yet...”

Roger looked at Buggy with a contemplative expression on his face before speaking softly. “Buggy, have you been afraid of us taking advantage of you because you're weaker than us?” 

Buggy took a step back in surprise before looking at the captain with suspicion. He opened his mouth to protest, but looking into the captain's eyes he knew that no matter what he said, the old man would know that he was lying. So instead he slowly nodded before looking down at his feet. 

“And us sparing the lives of the townspeople, even though they first came with the intention to fight, even though they were obviously weaker than us, have maybe started to make you feel more trusting towards us?” 

At that Buggy's head snapped up and he snarled, “Hell no! I've just been trying to figure out what your game is. Either you made a deal with Graves, to make up for all the valuables you could have stolen but didn't, or...” He hesitated. 

Roger leaned forward, curious at the hesitation in the headstrong blue-haired kid. “Or what, Buggy?” 

Buggy meet his gaze head-on. “Or you're not real pirates.” 

At that comment many of the crew members flew out of their chairs and started shouting angrily at Buggy, who flinched but still remained standing in front of the captain. 

“SHUT UP!” Roger yelled at them. They stopped abruptly. 

Roger was looking at Buggy with intensity. “I knew you were gutsy kid, but I didn't think you were foolhardy.” Buggy's eyes lost their confidence and suddenly he was scared. A tense silence lingered over the room, but then it was broken by the sound of the captain snickering. 

The other crew members looked at their captain with disbelief. “Captain, why are you snickering? He just insulted us!” 

Roger gave his crew an amused grin. “Naw, I don't see it as an insult. I see it more as a... clashing of opinions.” 

His gaze refocused on Buggy. “Buggy, we did not make any deals with Graves. That does not mean that we're not pirates. We have looted people before, you know. Marines and bounty-hunters that tried to catch us, other pirates that tried to fight us, and occasionally some civilians that got on our nerves... mostly because they were rich bastards who didn't know when to shut up.” At this there was light snickering among some of the crew members that quickly got shut down with a look from Rayleigh. “If the townspeople had attacked us without warning, we would have struck back just as fierce. But these people warned us before their attack, trying to defend their town without shedding any blood, actually giving us a chance to run away instead of fighting. Why would we attack people like that?”

As Buggy stood silent, Roger leaned back in his chair and continued speaking. 

“I will tell you something, Buggy. There are no such thing as _one_ kind of pirate. The only thing that we all share is that we are all dreamers. Every pirate has a dream, dreams that all differ from each other. Some dream of domination, others dream of finding treasure. Some seek to forget their past, while others want to gain a reputation. And then there are pirates like us. We have banded together for one purpose and only one.”

Buggy frowned. “And what is that?” 

Roger smiled. “To be free men.” 

Buggy could only stare. He did not say anything, because he didn't know what to say. What did the flashy bastard mean by that? What could he possibly mean by saying something so... vague? 

Roger saw the confusion on Buggy's face and took a deep breath. He had never been good at explaining stuff... but this was important for Buggy to understand.

“Let me try to explain. Every single one of my nakamas has had their freedom taken from them or has been oppressed at some point in their life, most of them by other pirates or the World Government. I have as well. They all went out to sea to find the freedom to follow their varied dreams. The thing that binds us all together is that they have entrusted their dreams to me.” 

He leaned forward towards Buggy. “Do you see what I'm saying, Buggy? I would give my life to make sure that my nakama's dreams are made into reality, because that is what _I choose_ to do.” He grinned. “And in return, they help me with my dream. A win-win situation, wouldn't you say?” 

Buggy could feel his head starting to throb at the captain's cryptic words and spat out through gritted teeth, “I don't get it.”

Roger smiled wryly. “What don't you get?” 

“Why do you even care about _their_ dreams? They're not your dreams, not your ambitions. It should be the other way around. They should be focusing on your ambition, since you're the captain. It's just common sense.” 

Roger smile became wistful. “Because as a D, I believe in freedom of choice above all else. And I chose every single member of my crew in the same way they chose to call me captain. _That_ is why I care.” 

Buggy looked thoroughly confused. “A D? What the hell's that?” He had never even heard about something like that before. Or... wait. He had! It was the initial in the captain's name. He had just figured that it was the first letter of Roger's middle name or something. He didn't think it actually _meant_ something. “What does it mean?” he asked curiously.

Much to Buggy's annoyance, the captain waved away his question. “That's a story for another time. My point is, Buggy, that all of us have been trapped and alone at some point of our lives. This means that we would never subject this to another person. Buggy, you are not a prisoner...”

Buggy snapped. “Liar! I never wanted to be on this stupid ship! You forced me with you! I don't want anything to do with any of you!” 

Roger's smile turned into a frown. “Now who's the liar? I saw it, Buggy,” he growled, making Buggy's hair stand on end. “I saw the surprise in your eyes when we burst into the storage. I saw the fear when you thought we were going to kill you. I saw the hope when I asked you if you wanted to become a Roger Pirate. And during this last month I have seen your wistfulness and desperation. I will tell you again, Buggy: we will not hurt you. You are here because I want you to become our nakama. But if you _really_ feel that you can never trust us, even a little... I will let you go.” 

Shocked silence filled the room before the captain spoke again, “”The people that live here... They are good people, I'm sure that they would let you stay with them if you asked them.”

Buggy stared at him with disbelief. “You serious? You're actually giving me a choice?”

Roger frown turned into a soft smile. “I told you, choice is kind of a big deal on my ship. I brought you with us because I thought you were interesting and it looked like you needed a home. I thought that maybe me and mine could give you that home, so that you may become a pirate able to follow his dreams in the future. But if you feel that this ship is not and never will be your home, then yes, I will let you off at the town. You'll never have to see any of us ever again.” 

This bit of news should have been exactly what Buggy wanted to hear. He should have been jumping up and down at the joy of finally escaping this ship. And yet... The feeling that swept over him wasn't joy. He was feeling... torn. 

Buggy bit his lower lip and looked at the surrounding crew out of the corner of his eyes. Most of them seemed curious on what he was going to answer, others seemed annoyed. But the one who captured his gaze was Shanks, who was looking at him with anxiety. 

Buggy felt himself fidgeting under the intense gaze. 'Why's he looking at me like that? We're not friends. We're not anything.' 

He decided to ignore the redhead for the time being and focus on what he was he was going to answer. He knew he was looking down a crossroad, and the choice he made right here, right now would change his life forever.

On one hand, he had the townspeople. As the captain said, they seemed to be good people and they certainly wasn't a threat to him the same way these guys were. But he didn't know them and they didn't know him. Would they help a kid they didn't know? A kid who was aspiring to become a pirate and steal all the world's treasures? No, they wouldn't. Because they were Good People. Good People raised children to become merchants, sailors or parents. Not pirates. 

On the other hand he had these pirates who at first had scared the hell out him, kidnapped him and had made him paranoid with their supposed kindness. But what if the kindness wasn't fake? What if he was lucky enough to have been picked up by probably the only crew of softhearted pirates in all the seas? He did want to become a pirate, to steal all the treasure he could get his hands on. And these guys... He could use them. 

That sealed the deal for Buggy. He would learn what he could from them, and when he grew older (and hopefully stronger) he would steal all their treasures and leave them high and dry. 

He mentally smirked at the brilliance of his plan. 'Maybe my luck didn't run out after all. Maybe I'm just at the beginning of a lucky streak.'

On the outside, Buggy straightened up and looked into the captain's eyes with seemingly new determination. “I have decided.” 

“Well? What's your decision?” Roger asked him.

Buggy took a deep breath before finally saying, “I will stay here.” 

Murmurs was heard from behind him. That was not the answer they had been expecting. Even Roger seemed kind of surprised. “What changed your mind?” 

Buggy shrugged. “I want to become a pirate, and at least it seems that you guys won't cut my throat in my sleep.” He glared at Roger. “Don't take this the wrong way; I still think that your talk of nakamas is a heap of flashy baloney. But you are strong and I can learn from you. So yes, I will become a Roger Pirate. For now at least.” 

Silence reigned before Roger threw his head back and started roaring with laughter, and after a few moments, the rest of the Roger Pirates chimed in. Buggy only looked at them unimpressed. After the laughter had died out, Roger lifted himself from his seat and addressed his ship-mates. “Well, then! Let's have a celebration for the official joining of our new cabin boy, Buggy! Let's get drunk!” 

And with a deafening cheer the dinner erupted into a party that lasted all through the night. None of them slept until the first light at dawn and the next day they waved farewell to the town, despite being as hungover and sleep-deprived as they were. 

As Buggy watched the captain climb up on the railing to wave goodbye and almost fall overboard only to be yanked back by Rayleigh (who seemed to be no worse for ware even though he won a drinking competition the night before) he allowed a self-satisfied smirk to grace his lips. For now, he would play along. But one day he would take everything they had and leave them with nothing. And that would mark the beginning of the great pirate Buggy, the richest man on the seas! He could hardly wait. 

“Suckers.”


	5. Perfect Pie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's wrong with being offered a delicious-looking pie? Nothing, of course... unless it's a certain red-head offering it to you.

**5) The Perfect Pie**

Age: 11 

///

It was perfect. 

The scent of a newly baked pie combined with the heavy aroma of blueberries was enough to make Buggy's mouth water. The crust looked not so thin as to let the filling run through the bottom, yet not too thick so as to becoming doughy. The blueberries on top looked fresh, like they had been picked yesterday. It was probably the most delicious looking blueberry-pie that Buggy had ever laid his eyes on in his short life.

The only thing ruining the perfect picture was the stupid redhead currently holding out said pie towards him with a stupid grin on his face. 

He looked down at the pie, then at the redhead. Pie. Redhead. 

“What's this?” Buggy asked suspiciously. 

“A blueberry-pie,” Shanks said, his grin not faltering in the slightest. 

Buggy's eyes remained suspicious and his lips formed an annoyed snarl. 

“I can see what it is, you flashy bastard. What I meant is, why are you holding it out towards me?”

“Howard made a whole bunch of them and gave me one of the smaller ones. I thought that we could share it," Shanks answered.. His grin turned a bit embarrassed and his right hand moved up and under his straw-hat to rake through his red hair. “I was so excited about the pie that I forgot to bring plates with me, though.” He perked up. “But I did remember to bring two spoons with me!” he said cheerfully

He sat down cross-legged on the deck, put down the pie in front of him and waved Buggy down to join him. “It's okay if we eat the pie directly from the form, right? We're both pirates, so who cares about table-manners anyway?” 

When Shanks noticed the uncharacteristic silence coming from Buggy he stopped fiddling with the spoons and looked up at the clown. 

Buggy had backed a few steps away from Shanks and the pie and now stood glaring at him. “Why are you doing this?” 

The redhead tilted his head slightly to the side in confusion. “Why am I doing what?” 

The clown gestured violently with his right hand towards the pie. “THIS! Talking to me, bringing me pie, acting like I'm your friend...” 

He trailed off before crossing his arms and turning away with a huff. “You got what you wanted. I've already agreed to sail on this stupid ship, so you don't have to hang around me all the time anymore.”

Buggy had hoped that after he agreed to become part of the crew, the redhead would finally leave him alone, but it seemed to have had the exact opposite effect. While before Shanks had only bothered him maybe once a day, he now pestered him ALL. THE. TIME! He had tried to get the redhead to give up on hanging around him by calling him names, ignoring him, even pushing him away with force, but the redhead was persistent to say the least.

By now the grin that before had seemed etched on Shanks' face had started to waver. “But I _want_ to hang around you.”

Buggy kept glaring at him from the corner of his eye. “Why? What could you possibly gain by hanging around me?” 

The grin vanished completely and was replaced with a look of pure determination. 

“Because I want to be your friend! And I want you to be my friend as well!”

Buggy looked surprised at the outburst before glaring at him closely, squinting his eyes like he was trying figure out a riddle. The fire he could see in Shanks' eyes was making him both part uncomfortable and curious, and for some reason he couldn't resist the urge to ask his next question. “Why are you so hung up on me becoming friends with you, red-head? You know that I'm not exactly friend-material, least of all to someone flashy like you who seems to be on a constant sugar-rush.”

Shanks looked contemplative before breathing out a frustrated sigh. “Honestly, you really underestimate yourself way too much.” 

Buggy sputtered in shock. Him? Underestimating himself?! He was the Great Buggy, the one who would gain all the treasures in the world! What the hell was that red-head even talking about?! It's not like you could have a dream like that and underestimate yourself!

He opened his mouth to snarl a reply but was frozen to the spot when Shanks gaze turned serious and he looked straight into the blue-haired boy's soul. It felt like he was staring straight into his soul, and the feeling made a shiver go down Buggy's back. The words Shanks said then would forever resonate within Buggy, no matter how many times he tried to forget them in the years to come. 

“You're the friend I've been waiting for all my life.”

Buggy was struck speechless. He could feel the words strike a cord within him and his face grew hot with embarrassment. ( _Because who the heck says something like that with a straight face?!_ )

If it had been anyone else saying a line like that, Buggy wouldn't have believed them for a second and would have jeered at them for uttering such an obvious lie. But just one look on Shanks' face told Buggy that the other boy was dead serious. That didn't help his embarrassment at all and Buggy knew that by now his face must be the same shade of red as his nose. 

Before Buggy could even think of a suitable reply, Shanks started talking again. 

“When we first met I thought that you were simply a thief, and I was just going to knock you out and take back my wallet. Then the rest of the crew showed up and Captain Roger pretty much forced you to give it back. Had it ended like that, I probably wouldn't have spared you a second thought. But when you threw back the coin the captain gave to you and told me that you would look for me when you became a pirate to finish what we started...” He took a breath before continuing bashfully. “This will sound stupid, but I suddenly got a flashback of when I used to watch the other kids go home after playing all day. They would say things like “See you tomorrow” and “Let's play again”.”

Shanks pulled his knees up and put his arms around them. “I, uh...” he stumbled and swallowed nervously, “...I always wanted someone to say something like that to me. So when you said that you would find me on the great sea someday, it felt to me like you were saying 'See you later'. And I became so happy, it was almost ridiculous. Despite having just met you... I don't know how else to explain it really.” 

Shanks cast a glance at Buggy to gauge his reaction to his words. The clown was gaping silently, his mouth trying to form words but failing miserably, his face practically glowing red. Shanks smiled reassuringly at the clown before continuing his story. 

“It wasn't until it became night and I was laying in hammock trying to sleep that it occurred to me that you didn't faint despite being so close to me when I was angry. It was then that I definitely decided to find you the next day. I didn't want to wait until we had grown up before I saw you again. I wanted to see if my first impressions of you were right.”

The smile slowly grew into the familiar grin. “And they were. During our second meeting, I found out that you were both smart and could definitely handle yourself in a fight. I also found out that you were hilarious, which was something I hadn't expected at all. But the best thing was that you weren't afraid of me. That was when I decided that you would become my friend.”

He took hold of his straw-hat and and straightened it before getting up from his seated position on the deck. He then looked Buggy straight in the eyes and Buggy gulped at fondness he could see deep in Shanks' eyes. “Do you get it now, Buggy? I don't want us to be friends because you're here, I want us to be friends because you're you.” 

The two boys just examined each other for a few minutes, the silence hanging thickly between them, the seagulls and the other pirates' laughter from the dining area being the only sounds that could be heard. The silence was broken when Buggy sighed loudly. 

“I'm not like you, redhead. I have never felt the need for a friend and I still don't -” He was abruptly interrupted by Shanks. 

“I won't give up on - !” 

Buggy swiftly took a few steps towards him and slapped his left palm over the redhead's mouth before hissing: “Will you let me finish talking, you flashy blabbermouth?!”

Shanks, who managed to pull off looking both surprised and annoyed at the same time, stood perfectly still for a few seconds before slowly nodding. Buggy removed his hand with a huff. 

“As I was saying, I don't need a friend. But -” 

He hesitated before closing his eyes and crossing his arms, searching for the right words. He could hear Shanks shifting impatiently, but the red-head didn't interrupt him again ( _which was the least he could do, since he was forcing Buggy into a mental corner, damn it_ ). He took a deep breath before he opened his eyes again and looked straight into Shanks' determined stare. 

“It took me a long time,” he started, “but I have come to understand two things about this crew: They're strong, and more surprisingly, they're kind. This means that I can learn about being a pirate while not having to worry about someone stabbing me in the back or treating me horribly.” He raked his fingers through his long hair in frustration. “But ever since I agreed to join the crew, I've been trying so hard to make you keep your distance from me that I haven't been able to learn _anything_ , and since it has become flashily obvious that you're never gonna quit bothering me, I've just made another decision.” 

He put his left hand on his hip while pointing at Shanks' with his other hand. “I'm gonna become a pirate, and if that means having you around all the time, then so be it. I'm not gonna waste anymore time or energy on trying to make you leave me alone anymore.”

He hesitated again before he half-turned away from Shanks and again his hand went nervously to his hair ( _another thing the stupid red-head and him had in common_ ). He bit his lip, not really wanting to say the next words, but felt that they really needed to be said. 

“And... I guess you're not the worst person to have around, even though you're stupidly sentimental...”

Shanks reached out and took a hold off Buggy's left hand, making Buggy almost jump out of his skin, his grin back on his face and brighter than ever. “Great, that's settled then! Hey, now that we're friends, you want to check out where I have my stuff?”

Before Buggy could answer the question, ( _or more importantly, make him let go of his hand!_ ), the redhead started dragging Buggy towards the dining area. “Captain Roger and Rayleigh-san gave me some space of my own, because some of the crew members doesn't want a kid around where they sleep. Something about me 'disturbing alone time'; I don't know. But anyway, I'll ask the captain if you can sleep at my spot. You can't keep sleeping at random spots on the ship. We can put in another hammock, I'm sure there are some in the storage room...”

As Shanks was contently blabbing away, Buggy was fighting the irritation he could already feel welling up and aiming itself at the redhead dragging him. He opened his mouth to yell at Shanks...

_“You're the friend I've been waiting for all my life.”_

He swallowed his words, and decided to simply let it slide this once. ( _But just this once! He would be damned if he let the redhead drag him around wherever and whenever he pleased._ )

The two boys were so into their own separate worlds that neither of them noticed that they had left the rapidly cooling pie behind. And thus the perfect pie became food for the birds, and Buggy never got to taste its perfection, which he later loudly and repeatedly blamed Shanks for. 

Of course, they got another pie to share after dinner, but that one surely couldn't be as good as the one they abandoned on the deck, or at least that was what Buggy kept saying. (He may have grudgingly agreed to become 'friends' with Shanks, but he sure as hell wasn't gonna make it easy for him.

And Shanks? Shanks let him rant. After all, _he_ had gotten what he wanted. And that was all that mattered


	6. Knives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knife-juggling on a boat is hard enough without a bored redhead getting in the way.

**Enjoy the chapter.**

**/// Daeli**

## 6) Knives

Age: 11

Left... Right... Left... Right...

Buggy watched as the knives went up into the air, only for gravity to bring them down each and every time. Long ago he might have become nervous at the sight of knives falling down towards him, but now he easily caught them in his hands, only to send them flying up into the air again with a flick of his fingers. 

It was after dinner-time and Buggy had finally gotten some free time to sneak away and do some long-overdue knife-practice. Ever since he said he'd join the crew, Rayleigh had started putting him to work. Buggy was an official member of the crew now, so there was no excuse for him not to do any work on the ship anymore. Or at least that's how Rayleigh put it. Buggy didn't really mind, actually. He was there to learn how to be a pirate, after all. And he could handle being ordered around, as long as it was only the Captain or Rayleigh giving the orders _(the seas would freeze over before he followed any orders from that grump Bane)_. 

Shanks had kitchen duty today, along with a crew-member that Buggy didn't really know very well _(Fitz or Fritz or something like that, younger guy with only one eye, kinda quiet, kinda creepy)_ , which meant that Buggy had his free time all to himself. He thought that he would feel more happy about that, but for some reason he felt a bit... uneasy. 

Shanks was always around him nowadays. They worked together, they ate together, they even slept in the same area together. And as much as an annoyance as Shanks could be on some days, and as much as the two of them fought with each other _(because Buggy_ had _promised not to make it easy for him, and Shanks was a stupid idiot who never could admit when he was wrong about something (everything))_ , Buggy didn't find him as annoying as he used to do. He had been gradually getting used to Shanks hanging around him all the time; he was even getting used to the redhead's tendency to blather on whenever he was excited about something. 

And now, being by himself felt... weird. The silence that had settled around Buggy as he kept training almost made him feel a little lonely. Even out of sight, the red-head kept creeping up in his mind.

He shook off the depressing feeling and continued concentrating on his juggling. 

During his years working for Fabioli, handling knives had become a second nature for Buggy. He had used them as juggling-props when putting on a show for the tourists, and as weapons whenever he needed to defend himself. 

Now, on land he could easily juggle five knives while wearing a blindfold if he wanted to, but he had settled for three this time _(and no blindfold, obviously)_ since it was the first time he ever tried juggling on a boat, and and he had quickly realized how much harder it was to juggle while standing on an unsteady surface. The waves kept trying to throw him off balance. But he had to keep at it. If, or rather when, he had to take part in a battle in the future, he wanted to be sure that he had full control over his knives. He couldn't afford to lose his balance and drop them. One single mistake could be enough to get him killed. So he was determined to get as good at juggling on the ship as he had been on land. 

But this was more easily said than done. Spending a lifetime on land had given him habits he didn't even know he had. One was the way he placed his feet. On land, he always stood with his back straight, his feet rather close together and his knees only slightly bent, but to keep his balance on the ship he had to spread his legs apart and at slightly different angles so the waves wouldn't throw him off his feet. That change in his stance had almost made him fail to catch the knives several times, because every time a wave hit the boat, he had to move a bit to compensate for it, which placed his body in a slightly different position than the one it'd been in when the knives went up into the air. 

Fortunately for him, his hands knew exactly what they were doing and caught the knives every time, doing the same things they had done thousands of times before. And after forty minutes of nothing but juggling, he could feel himself getting better and better at shifting his stance correctly, though he knew that he was a far way off from being able to use the knives effectively in battle. But at least he was getting somewhere.

All he could do was practice, practice, practice.

Left... right... left... right...

“That's awesome!” 

The enthusiastic yell made Buggy flinch at the same time that a large wave hit the side of the ship. Buggy lost his balance and fell hard on his back, and after cursing in pain he opened his eyes only to see two of the knives falling down towards him. He screamed _(not like a girl!)_ , rolled to the side, and heard the knives sink into the deck right behind his back. 

A few seconds of dead silence reigned before... “Wow, good reflex.”

Buggy jumped up on his feet and snarled at the owner of the voice, that of course only could belong to one person.

“Goddammit, redhead, don't sneak up on me like that!”

Shanks _(looking totally unconcerned about how he almost caused a flashy accident, dammit!)_ ran up to him with his usual grin on his lips and sparkles in his eyes. “You're really good at that! Could you do it with burning knives? I saw some other jugglers while we were at Carnibal Island, and they looked really cool doing that! Hey, could you?”

Buggy took a step back at the verbal avalanche coming from the red-head and sneered contemptuously. “Why would I ruin a pair of perfectly good knives? Setting metal on fire is simply a trick to dazzle tourists, you flashy idiot. It looks fancy, but the one juggling always has to replace the blades afterward. I don't need to impress anyone, I just need the knife to go where I want it to go.” He scoffed. “But of course someone stupid like you would be impressed by something stupid like that.”

Shanks simply kept grinning stupidly, seemingly unfazed by Buggy's insult, and sat down on the deck and leaned back with a satisfied sigh. After a few seconds of glaring at Shanks, just daring him to do anything else stupid, Buggy started reaching down to pull the knives out of the deck. 

“Where did you get the knives from, anyway?” Shanks suddenly asked him. 

Buggy's body froze at the question. He took a quick look around, making sure that there was no-one else around, before quickly snatching up the knives. “I stole them from the storage room a couple of days after we left Carnibal Island.” He saw Shanks's looking at him with a disapproving frown. “Don't give me that flashy look, red-head. At the time I thought I might need them, okay?” 

Shanks looked at him closely before nodding reluctantly. Neither of them mentioned out loud what Buggy thought he would have needed the knives for, but since they both knew that the other one knew, they really didn't have to say it _(another sign that they've been hanging around each other_ way _too much)_.

“You know Rayleigh is the one who does the inventory and that he has probably noticed that the knives are gone, right?” Shanks said. 

Buggy started to lazily flip one of the knives in his hand. “I figured. But he hasn't asked me to give them back, so I'm keeping them.” He glared out of the corner of his eyes. “Wanna make something of it?”

Shanks scoffed. “Wouldn't dream of it.” 

A few minutes went past with neither of them speaking, and Buggy started juggling again, hoping that the red-head would grow bored and leave him be. No such luck of that happening, however, as Shanks suddenly asked: “Hey, do you think we could spar sometime?”

“What kind of sparring?” Buggy shot back at him without taking his eyes away from the knives. 

Shanks shrugged. “Any kind, really.” His eyes fell on the knives flying up into the air, and grinned in excitement. “How about sparing with weapons? Your knives against my sword.”

Buggy swiftly caught the knives in his hand and turned to Shanks, his eyes filled with disbelief. “Have you grown even stupider in the last hour since I saw you, red-head? Do you want us to get killed before even fighting an enemy? I've seen your swordplay, and trust me, you're not good enough for me to trust you not to stab me in the face by accident while sparring.” _(And honestly, neither was Buggy, but no way was he gonna mention that to Shanks.)_

“Hey,” Shanks said indignantly. “I'm not _that_ bad, you know. Rayleigh-san is teaching me, and he's one of the best there is. And he says that I'm getting better after each training session.” 

Buggy snorted and put his free hand on his hip. “Answer's still 'no', idiot.”

Shanks huffed in annoyance. “Fine. How about some hand-to-hand fighting, then?”

Despite his first instinct being to outright refuse to train with him, Buggy decided to think it over. Hand-to-hand fighting could actually be useful in the long run. Right now he could swing a mean right hook against someone his own size, but if he faced off against an adult without his knives, he was screwed. He also knew that there were plenty of awesome fighters out on the sea, and that fighting would be one of the skills he would need if he wanted to be a great pirate in the future. So there was some merit to training with Shanks, though it would be better if one of the adults actually trained him first. The thought of losing to Shanks even in training didn't sit well with him. 

An evil thought suddenly hit him and he felt a smirk creep onto his face. Maybe he was onto something there. Maybe he could get Rayleigh or the captain to give him fighting lessons first. And then he could use whatever they taught him to get the upper hand against Shanks. Talk about killing two birds with one stone! If he played his cards right, he would learn something useful AND get to pummel Shanks on a regular basis! 

He turned to the red-head and said slyly, “I could always use someone to beat up on my more frustrated days. Alright, red-head. It's a deal. I'll spar with you.” 

Shanks' eyes lit up in excitement and he jumped to his feet. “Great. How about right now?”

The smirk turned into a scowl and the clown turned his back on the red-head, his hands fiddling impatiently with the knives. “Later. I'm busy right now.”

As much satisfaction it would give him to be able to punch Shanks in the face without getting punished for it, this was far more important to Buggy. He could always fight the red-head later. 

Unfortunately, Shanks didn't seem to think of it that way.

“Oh, come on,” he whined. “I'm bored and it's not like you're doing anything important anyway.” 

Buggy stopped fiddling with the knives as he felt cold fury go down his spine. Not doing anything important? Not important?! 

When Shanks saw the clown's muscles get rigid and his eyes blazing with raging fire as he whipped around to face him, he knew that he had said something he shouldn't have. 

“So me wanting to survive isn't important, redhead?” Buggy snarled. “I guess it's only important if you're involved, huh? I can't do anything useful if I'm by myself?!” He took a step forward, right into Shanks' personal space. Another tell-tale sign that he was seriously pissed off. “Well, guess what, you spoiled brat?! I don't have any flashy superpowers to make people faint or big, strong muscles. I can't even shoot a gun properly! But these...” He held up one of the knives to Shanks' face, “...these I know how to handle. They're the only real advantage I have. If I can't use them properly when there's a battle, I'll be as defenseless as a naked baby. So excuse me if I want to prevent myself from dying!” He took a step back and put the knives in his belt. “If you really think I'm _so boring_ , why don't you get lost and leave me the hell alone?!” 

With that last furious outburst Buggy turned his back on Shanks and stomped away. 

Shanks immediately ran after him. After these last months of getting to know the clown, there were some things he had learned about him: depending on whether you made Buggy angry or you hurt Buggy's feelings, you had to act in different ways. If you made Buggy mad, it wasn't a big deal. He had a naturally hot temper, but also always cooled down remarkably fast. All you had to do was change the subject or otherwise distract him, and he would go from furious to normal in a second. 

But if you hurt Buggy's feelings, you had to apologize immediately, no matter how much you thought he acted like a baby. Otherwise his anger would turn into sulkiness and it would become a major pain trying to apologize to him later. He would act much like he did when he first got on-board: hiding, not talking, not eating and just glaring at everyone that came near him. 

Given that he was the one who spent the most time with Buggy, it was no surprise that Shanks knew how to differentiate between the two moods by now. Which is why he ran after him immediately. He had dealt enough with 'sulky Buggy' to last him for a lifetime. 

And besides, even if he himself didn't get what was so important about this training, Buggy obviously thought it was. And if it was that important to Buggy, then he wouldn't make fun of it. Because friends didn't do that. 

Shanks caught hold of Buggy's shoulder and stopped him from stomping away. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Forgive me?”

Buggy's eyes glared at the hand on his shoulder before meeting Shanks' eyes. Seeing the sincere apology in his dark eyes, Buggy sighed in defeat and shrugged of the hand with a huff. “I'm still not sparring with you,” he muttered.

Shanks shrugged, not really caring about that anymore. He was just happy that the clown hadn't become too upset with him. “Can I at least stay and watch you juggle?”

Buggy gave him a deadpan look. “You _really_ don't have anything else to do?”

“Not really. I've finished all of my chores, and Rayleigh's busy so I can't train with him.” Shanks grinned. “Besides, washing dishes with Fritz almost made me fall sleep on my feet. It was _sooo_ dull. You're much more fun to be around.” He clapped Buggy's lightly on his shoulder. “So, since you're here, I might as well be here too, even if we're not sparring.”

A small dust of red was seen creeping up on Buggy's cheeks before he once again turned his back to Shanks, nervously fiddling with the knives in his belt. “Simple as always...” he muttered. He took a deep breathe and pulled out the knives from his belt. “Fine! You can stay. But if you bother me even a little bit, I WILL chuck my knife at you. And I don't miss.”

“Yeah, yeah...” Shanks sat down and leaned against the railing again, watching as Buggy restarted his juggling session. 

As he kept juggling, Buggy could feel the presence of Shanks sitting near him, simply being there without saying a word, and the feeling of loneliness that he had been struggling with earlier slowly evaporated and disappeared without a trace. 

The rest of the evening was spent in companionable silence. The only sounds heard were the murmur from the crew, the cries of the sea gulls and the knives singing as they time and time again flew into the air.


End file.
